Way of the Dreamer
by Time Mage
Summary: In a slightly AU setting, young Kazuki Katsura has decided to enter Duelist Academy to try and get on the road to his dream. The Academy Duel Festival continues, and it seems that everyone has their own hidden agenda.
1. Entrance Exam

Hey everyone, I've been thinking on this idea for a bit now, and I decided that since some of the others are all doing GX/Academy fics, I'd give it a try. Please note that this fic will not have a major plot, big villains, etc. It will only be about twenty-five or so chapters in the end.

However, don't let that discourage you. This'll still be a great fic, with lots of dueling action and a few personal commentaries on life and people by yours truly. But enough about that. On to the good stuff!

Disclaimer (I'm only gonna do this once for this story)-I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, or Duelist Academy. However, a large percentage of the cards used will be mine!

**The Way of the True Duelist**

**Chapter One-Entrance Exam**

In the world there are a number of different classifications of people, animals, objects and ideals. Humans like it that way. They like being able to say "That's a liberal idea," or "This is a bird," or "I'm a genius."

Indeed, being able to classify the world is one of humanities talents. One of the more common classifications is that of the people who are destined to succeed verses those who will miserably fail, no questions asked. There is no group that has potential, or a group of those who screw up once in a while. No, it's the failures and the successors.

What makes one a failure or a success? Well, when a person has lots of friends, can get by on the fact that they are well liked, and maybe have a nice smile or pretty eyes, then they succeed. If they aren't well-liked, or don't have a number of connections, then they will fail. Simple, right?

XXXXXXXX

Kazuki Katsura looked up at the daunting structure of the Tokyo Japan Duel Monsters National Stadium. It was normally used for major tournaments, such as regionals, nationals, and every five years for the World Championship. However, twice a year it was converted for the very purpose that had brought him: the entrance examination for Kaiba Corporations Duel Monsters Academy. If he passed, he'd be on his way to the best school for learning about the game, plus regular academic instruction. Since it was such an up-to-date facility, graduating from the Academy could guarantee your admittance to nearly an university in Japan, or the world for that matter.

Of course, Kazuki had a different objective. Of course he wanted to get a good education, but he had two very specific reasons for applying. First and foremost was this very stadium. When he was just five years old, one of his earliest, distinct childhood memory was of coming here and watching the World Championship match. Ever since then, Kazuki had been inspired to some day enter this stadium as a competitor and to go at it with the best in the world.

Because of this dream, he had decided to enter the Academy, hoping it could help launch him into the pro leagues. Of course, nothing was definite yet, but he was pretty sure he could make it work.

"Alright, no turning back." he said aloud as a few other teenagers his age funneled past him. Walking up to the registration desk, he quickly gave his name and was rewarded with a clipboard with an information sheet attached to it. Take the pen that the elderly man offered him, he found a padded bench and began to skim over the paper.

"'Dueling Occupation: A) Professional Duelist B) Card Designer C) Gaming CEO D) Other'" he read slightly aloud. Circling A, he continued.

XXXXXXXX

Professor Eizan Kiske, instructor of more classes at Duelist Academy than any other faculty member, and one of the most liked by the other staff, sat in the booth overlooking the various dueling fields that had been set up for the exam. However, unlike the other teachers with him, he was not actually grading anyone. No, he was one of five Professors chosen to oversee the entire event and review the scores of duelists in the end to make sure a fair judgement was given.

On the team of five he was joined by Professors Edo Idane, the head of the Osiris Red dorm, Professor Dayu Masuko, head of Ra Yellow, Professor Keiko Hitsumi, head of Obelisk Blue, as well as Professor Kita Saira, another respected teacher at the school.

"That girl, in the green tunic," Dayu said, pointing at one of the monitors in front of the five in the back of the room. He was indicating a young woman who was doing rather well for herself, even though she had thus far used only one monster. "I think she should go to Osiris Red."

"Are you mad!" Kita cried, looking at Dayu directly. It was a known fact that Dayu, despite his position, was one of the most arrogant staff members. Anyone who couldn't end their duel in five turns or less, and with less than two thousand Life Points simply wasn't worth being in his house. Of course, this often led him to push to eliminate a number of students who were otherwise qualified to attend.

Groaning in annoyance, Keiko decided to add her voice. "She's managed to keep a margin of one thousand Life Points between her and her opponent all duel long, continuously using her monster in a number of ways that I doubt you ever could have. I vote to place her in Ra Yellow."

"Agreed." Eizan added, trying to put in his vote before he had to become the decisive voice.

"Looks like you're outnumbered, Dayu." Edo said, a bemused look in his eye as his lips twitched, wanting to smile. Growling in frustration, Dayu threw down his pen, stood up, and began to pace.

XXXXXXXX

'"_Your opponent has a set card and a Swordhunter (2450) equipped with four monsters, increasing its attack by 800. You have two cards in your hand, which are Polymerization and Scapegoat, and you have one Magister Token and a DNA Surgery set on the field. How do you land the finishing play?"'_ Kazuki read the question on the exam to himself. It seemed simple enough, although it was marked as a hard question. Sighing, he circled his answer.

XXXXXXXX

Tapping the red panel on the small computer screen in front of him, Eizan cast his vote to place a student in Osiris Red. The boy had done rather well, but upon reviewing the young mans written score, it was obvious he was not yet ready for the level or work that came with Ra Yellow.

"Who is next?" he asked while glancing at his watch. The day was nearly done. If he wasn't mistaken, only a few more duels were left to go.

"A young man by the name of Kazuki Katsura." Kita said, reading the name. "He's applying to the Academy for training to become a professional duelist. If his written test is any indication, he should do rather well."

At hearing this, Dayu's face lit up. High written scores meant high dueling caliber, and that meant he should be getting someone good enough for his dorm.

Eizan, on the other hand, wasn't so thrilled. Because of the boys decision to become a professional duelist, that meant he would need to be more critical of how he dueled. Tapping in a few commands, he decided to call up the boys essays, which he could read while the duel progressed. Most of his colleagues didn't see the point in this, but Eizan was known to be slightly eccentric as an instructor.

XXXXXXXX

Breathing deeply, Kazuki tried to fight off the anxiety he felt as the examiner walked onto the field. Inserting his deck into his old Duel Disk II, he drew a new hand. Although it was true when he told people that the reason he used the older model because he couldn't afford a new one, his real reason was simply the fact that he like the retro look and feel to it. Plus, he had been using it so long that it felt awkward to him to use anything else. (KLP:4000)

"I am Professor Miya Masuko, and I will be examining you today." she introduced herself, raising her arm, which had a Duel Disk IV attached. (MLP:4000) Nodding, Kazuki, unfolded his hand of cards as she did the same.

'_Ok, calm down. She may be a Professor, but she's still using an examination deck, which have handicaps built into them to make it fair. I just need to beat her, and I'm on my way.'_

"I summon Ancient Mystic (1700/1000) to begin with." he said as a man in gray robes appeared, twisting his fingers in a variety of symbols. "Then I'll set one card face down, and end my turn." he finished as the holographic image of the card appeared before him.

"Good opening play." Miya said, drawing a card, recognizing the deck she was using. It was one of the higher level examination decks, meaning that this boy had done well on the first half of the exam, and that she wasn't supposed to go as easy on him as she would otherwise. Despite his flourish in his opening move, she could tell that he was still trembling.

"I summon a monster in defense mode and set two cards face down. Turn end." she said as the three cards appeared before her, each one facing down, hidden from the view of everyone watching.

"Ok, my move." Kazuki said, drawing again, feeling a bit better. She hadn't started out with some kind of massive assault on him, which was always comforting to see. "I play Search for the Lost." he said, activating his drawn card. "This lets me search my deck for a card with Ancient in its name and add it to my hand." he said as his duel disk scanned his cards before ejecting a card into his hand. "And I've chosen my Ancient Civilization field card!"

Slipping the card into his field card zone, he watched happily as archaic structures appeared all around them, covering the cybernetic floor. The final building to appear was directly behind him, a temple of sorts, the highest of them all.

"This card boosts the attack and defense points of all Ancient monsters on my field by three hundred, plus a few other really cool effects, but that'll have to wait till next turn." he explained as his monsters attack rose to two thousand. "Next, I'll set one card face down and then order my Ancient Mystic (2000/1300) to attack your monster." he called as the face down card image appeared before him.

Shifting the signs of his hands a few times, the sage chanted a few seconds more before a massive dragon of water emerged and struck the defending monster, hiding it from view for a few seconds. However, as the image of the water vanished, it was revealed that the attacked monster was still standing, meaning its defense was high enough that it could not be destroyed by the attack.

"You attacked by E-Hero Clayman (800/2000)." Miya explained simply as the effectless monster revealed itself.

'_Well, at least now I know what kind of deck she's using.'_ Kazuki frowned, ending his turn.

Drawing, Miya looked her cards over again. "I play Clay Wrap on Clayman." she began, activating one of her older cards. Instantly the brown figure was encased in a light brown layer of light, dried mud. "Next I play Fusion Sage to search my deck for a Polymerization." she continued, activating the card she had drawn. Seconds later her deck ejected a card for her to take. "I set one card face down and then I play Mirage of Nightmare."

Taking her nod as a signal to go, Kazuki drew. As he added the card to his hand, he wasn't surprised as Miya drew three cards at once, filling her hand with four cards, thanks to the effect of her Mirage of Nightmare. However, he was also familiar with the cost of the card, meaning that if one of her set cards wasn't Emergency Provisions or Cyclone, then she'd have to discard three cards on her next turn.

"Like I said, this turn I get to show you the effects of my Ancient Civilization field card. While it's in play, I either draw two cards each turn, or I can skip my draw to place a card from my graveyard into my hand. However, I cannot choose the same card two turns in a row." he explained, drawing twice, giving him five cards in his hand.

"I summon Ancient Saint (1500+300/1300+300) in attack mode!" The new monster was dressed in sparkling white robes with golden cross shaped patterns all over it. "This monster powers up all Ancient monsters on my field by four hundred." he explained as his Mystic's attack rose to twenty-four hundred and his Saint's became twenty-two hundred.

"Next I'll play my face down card, Ancient Curse, which destroys one face up monster on your field." he continued as the magic card flipped up and Clayman began to decay, falling in pieces to the ground and then dried up and became dust.

"Since you destroyed Clayman, you've activated the ability of Claywrap." Miya intervened, causing Kazuki to frown. "When destroyed, Claywrap destroys one of your magic or trap card on your field. As such, I'm going to destroy your Ancient Civilization." Casting his eyes down, Kazuki listened as the city all around them crumbled to dust, unable to watch as one of his major advantages crumbled so readily around him. At the same time, his monsters points were also dropping, already losing the bonus from the field card. Breathing deeply, he renewed his resolve and continued.

"I activate my Ancient Mystic's ability. Whenever I activate a magic card, he gets a magic counter, so now he has three. So I'll sacrifice them to search my deck for a card and then place it in my hand, but I can't activate it this turn." he continued to explain, pointing towards his first monster. Pulling his deck free and searching for a card, which he placed into his hand before shuffling his deck and returning it to it's slot in his duel disk.

Looking at the five cards in his hand, Kazuki tried to think up something to do, but he couldn't play one of the cards in his hand, and the others he could play, but it wouldn't be anything critical, and he still had to worry about her two set cards. If he played the cards in his hand and her set cards countered his attack, then they would be wasted.

'_No, better to hold off on playing them for now. Besides, even if she doesn't stop me, my monsters have enough power to finish her off right now.'_

"Ancient Mystic (2100/1000) and Ancient Saint (1900/1300), attack directly!" he shouted. Shifting his fingers rapidly, the Mystic created another attack, this one in the form of a firebird which soared at Miya. At the same time, the Saint was holding up his hands, palms facing towards Miya as a golden orb of light formed, which he fired at her.

"I activate my face down card, Hero Spirits!" Miya shouted as her trap card flipped up. "The turn an E-Hero is destroyed, all Life Point damage I take is reduced to zero." she explained as the attacks passed through her, dealing no damage of any kind.

"Alright, I end my turn." Kazuki declared, still holding five cards. Drawing a fifth card herself, Miya looked her hand over, and then picked the one card that had been in her hand at the end of her last turn, as well as two of the ones she had drawn from Mirage of Nightmare.

"Since I drew three cards during your standby phase, I have to discard three. However, one of the ones I'm discarding is Repayment of Losses, meaning I get to draw a card." she explained, placing the cards into her graveyard and then drawing another card.

"I play the Warrior Returning Alive to return a warrior monster in my graveyard to my hand, and I choose E-Hero Clayman. Now I activate my face down Polymerization to use Clayman with the Sparkman in my graveyard to create my E-Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500), who when summoned destroys a monster on your field with a base attack lower than his."

Her new monster stood about a foot taller than her, a massive upper body encased in yellow armor and a protective covering over the head, while purple pants covered the legs. Lifting his arms over his head, lightning began to focus between his palms, generated by the energy spines on his back. Hurling the blast at Ancient Saint, the figure was instantly incinerated.

"Finally, I play Thunder Clap!" she persisted, playing her final card. "To use this card, I must have either an E-Hero Sparkman or a thunder fusion monster that he is a part of. It destroys one monster on your field." Instantly a cluster of lightning bounced from the spines on the back of the massive monster, obliterating Kazuki's monster. "Now, Thunder Giant, attack!"

"Reverse card open!" Kazuki shouted as Miya's monster began to charge energy for his attack. "Corrosion of Earth effects one of your monster zones and weakens any monster on that zone by five hundred attack points for each turn my trap has been set face down. It's been set since my first turn, so Thunder Giant loses fifteen hundred attack points, just like any other monster you summon to that zone." Finishing his explanation, Kazuki watched as the massive superhero shrank down to less than half of his normal size. However, it did not prevent Thunder Giant (900/1500) from flinging the ball of electricity at Kazuki, pushing him back a feet or two. (KLP:3100)

Since Miya no longer had any cards in her hand, Kazuki drew. Seconds later, Miya filled her hand again with four cards. "I play the card I grabbed with Ancient Mystic, and it's called Ancient Records. It allows me to search my graveyard for an Ancient card and add it to my hand." he said as a card was slipped into his hand from his graveyard. "And the card I've chosen is Ancient Civilization."

With a rumble, the field card returned to effect, the white marble buildings rising all around them. Already Kazuki felt better, with his field card surrounding him again. Grabbing another card, he activated it. "Unearth the Past revives Ancient Saint (1500+300+400/1300+300) with an added five hundred attack points." Instantly a large collection of dots of light formed before the young man, fading to reveal the white-robed man, his attack points rising to twenty-seven hundred as a result of his own effect, plus the field card and the revival card.

"Next I'll summon Ancient Seer (800/2200) in defense mode. Using its effect, I will flip a coin. If I guess the flip correctly, I may take back one card from my graveyard. If I am wrong, then I must discard the top card of my deck." he explained as a man in silver robes and who also was obviously blind appeared. Taking a coin from his pocket, Kazuki flipped it several feet into the air, snatching it between his fingers as it fell. "Tails." he said before turning his arm and unfolding his fingers. Much to his disappointment, the coin was displaying the heads side. With a frown, he dropped the top card of his deck into his graveyard.

"That could have gone better." he muttered aloud. "Ancient Saint, attack Thunder Giant!" he commanded. Again firing a bolt of gold light from his palms, the powered-up saint blasted apart the weakened hero. (MLP:2200) "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Impressive comeback, even if your coin flip didn't work." the professor complimented, and then, in a rather childish manner, she winked at Kazuki, who blushed slightly.

'_I just realized how young she must be. Come to think of it, with a body like that, I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't any more that twenty or so, meaning she must be a recent graduate of the Academy.'_

Glancing at her five cards, Miya chose four and placed them into her graveyard. Then she took the last card she had and turned it around to show Kazuki that it was a monster, which she then laid down in defense mode. "This is E-Hero Bubbleman (800/1200), and if he's the only card in my hand he is special summoned. If he's the only monster on my field when summoned, I get to draw two cards." she explained, drawing two cards.

"I activate the effect of one of the monsters I discarded last turn, my E-Hero Necro Darkman, who allows me to special summon a monster from my hand without tribute, and I will use him to summon my E-Hero Edgemand (2600/1800) in attack mode." Her monster was tall, at least six feet, and dressed in tightly fit gold armor, with long horns sticking out of the sides of his head, a golden cape, and large blades on each of his forearms.

"Next is the magic card, Card of Sanctity, so we each draw until we hold six cards." she explained as she turned the card around to display it to Kazuki, who complied and drew four cards while she drew six.

"I play two Miracle Fusion cards!" she shouted, flipping the two identical magic cards around. "This card allows me to remove fusion components from my graveyard from play as if I were performing a regular fusion." she explained. "So I will fuse my Necro Darkman with my Sparkman, and the Wildman I discarded this turn with my Clayman to create E-Hero Black Lightning Striker (2200/1400) and E-Hero Earth Crusher (2000/2000)."

The first monster to appear on her field looked much like the blue clothed Sparkman, only larger and his clothing was black and the gold patches of armor were now silver. The second was a man with dark skin and large muscles, wrapped ins thick armor that seemed to be made of clay, with a massive hammer in his grasp, one end of it spiked.

"When my Black Lightning Striker is summoned, he instantly destroys one of your monsters, no questions asked." she began her explanation of her monsters effects as a bolt of black electricity struck Kazuki's powered up Ancient Saint. "Also, you cannot chain to the attacks of my Black Lightning Striker, and he'll destroy one of your cards each turn, regardless of attack points, but I must pay 500 Life Points each turn for him."

"And Earth Crusher?" Kazuki asked.

"Earth Crusher has both a trample effect, allowing him to deal damage through your defenses, and the effect of destroying one of your magic or trap cards each time it does damage."

"In that case, I activate my face down trap card, Ancient Labyrinth!" Kazuki called as he pressed a button on his duel disk and a large maze appeared on the field, separating the three large heroes and locking them away at separate points. "This trap card prevents you from attacking me for three turns. Basically, it's a trap card version of Swords of Revealing Light."

"If that's the case, then I'll end my turn." Miya conceded. However, she had four cards in her hand, meaning that as Kazuki drew a card, she did not.

"First off, Ancient Seer's effect activates again." he began, flipping his coin again. "Again I call tails." Flipping the coin into the air, he caught it seconds later, and this time grinned as he got the side that he wanted. Reaching down to his graveyard, he caught the card he gave him. "I got back Unearthing the Past, which I'll use to special summon my Ancient Saint (1500+500+400+300/1000+300) once again. Then I'll summon my Ancient Magician (1700+300+400/1100+300)." The new magician was dressed in light blue robes and armed with a staff. "This monster gets two attacks each turn."

"Excellent play." the professor acknowledged with a nod.

Blushing slightly at being complimented by the professor, Kazuki continued his move. "Ancient Saint (2700), attack his Edgeman!" he ordered. Firing the now usual blast of gold light, the young monk destroyed the target monster. (MLP:2100) "Ancient Magician (2400), attack Black Lightning Striker!" Lifting his staff, the blue robed sorcerer released a crescent wave of energy that sliced through the air on its way to striking the target monster.

"I activate my face down card, Hero's Noble Struggle!" the professor countered as the wave continued to move towards her, but was suddenly halted as pixels of light gathered together between the attack and her monsters. Seconds later the lights faded, revealing E-Hero Edgeman, only his armor was cracked and chipped and various lines of blood could be seen where the plating was missing. "This card revives an E-Hero you destroyed this turn until the end phase. You have to attack that Hero first." she explained.

"But he has twenty-six hundred attack points, and my Ancient Magician only has twenty-four hundred points." Kazuki moaned.

"That's the point." the instructor said as Edgeman raised his right arm and slashed down, his bladed arm shattering the wave of magical energy, causing a ripple to surge backwards and strike the sage, destroying him instantly. (KLP:3000)

"I set one card face down. Turn end." Kazuki groaned as his plan was soundly countered. Seconds later, Edgeman vanished, and then Miya drew, giving her five cards in hand. However, because she had not drawn any cards from Mirage of Nightmare, she did not have to discard any.

"First I must pay five hundred Life Points for my Black Lightning Striker being on the field." she started as her Life Points ticked down slightly. (MLP:1600) "I activate Burial from Another Dimension, returning the four monsters I removed from play last turn to my graveyard." she said, taking the cards from her pocket and inserting them into her graveyard. "Next, Black Lightning Striker destroys your Saint." she continued as another bolt of black lightning reached down from the heavens and annihilated Kazuki's monster.

Taking a card from her hand, she slipped it into her magic zone. "Hero's Great Sacrifice allows me to send one E-Hero on my field to the graveyard to gain double it's attack points as Life Points, so I choose E-hero Bubbleman."

Turning on his heal, the blue-armored hero bowed to her and then dissolved, becoming a number of lights that melted into Miya's duel disk, raising her life points by sixteen hundred. (MLP:3200) Still holding three cards, she turned to her monsters.

"Black Lightning Striker and Earth Crusher will attack you directly for game. Sorry, but it seems that you weren't ready for this institution." she said, her tone vibrating with her sincerity.

"Hold it!" Kazuki shouted, slashing his arm through the air. "I'm not out yet. I activate my set card, Enchanted Relic! This trap card makes it so that you can't target my field for battle this turn." he explained as a thin golden disk with various symbols etched into it and encrusted with jewels appeared in the air in front of him. Seconds later it released a ring of energy from its edges which expanded rapidly until it had reached the borders of the dueling ring. As the two attacking monsters grew closer, they were halted by an invisible barrier that had set itself up in the wake of the expanding ring of energy.

"Good save." Miya concluded. "I'll set one card face down and end."

Drawing his two cards thanks to his Ancient Civilization field card, Kazuki barely noticed as Miya drew twice from her magic card. Holding five cards, he tried to think up some way to get through her monsters.

"First off, Ancient Seer's effect. Heads." Flipping the coin into the air, he missed catching it as it fell, and so was forced to go based on whatever side of the coin was facing him when it landed. Sighing, he looked back up at his proctor. "Tails." Taking a card from his hand, he slipped it into a magic slot. "Card Destruction, so we each discard our current hands and draw new ones of the same number of cards."

With a nod, Miya slid her cards into her graveyard. "You shouldn't have done that, not that it matters. You made me discard Friendog (800/1200), who lets me take back a Polymerization and a fusion material monster and put them into my hand." she explained as she added the two cards her graveyard submitted to her to the hand of four she had drawn seconds before.

Grumbling at this slight development, Kazuki shook it off and looked at his new hand of four. "I sacrifice Ancient Seer to summon Ancient Priest (2200+300/1800+300) in attack mode." In a flash the young blind man disappeared and was replaced by a new man in scarlet robes and a staff with a halo with a number of rings at the head. "This monster allows me to once per turn discard one card from my hand, and I may then return one card of the same type from my graveyard to my hand. So I'll discard one magic card to get back Ancient Curse!"

Sliding a card from his hand into his graveyard, Kazuki happily accepted the card offered to him. Without a moments hesitation, he rammed the card into his magic zone, and the black and silver clothed hero collapsed before crumbling to dust.

"Next I'll play Power of the Ancients, permanently increasing the attack of my Ancient Priest by one thousand!" A circle of light with various symbols appeared under the feet of the holy magician. Out of the circle emerged a number of ribbons of energy with various runes lining them, twisting around the magister, raising his attack to thirty-five hundred.

"Ancient Priest, attack E-Hero Earth Crusher!" he commanded. Clenching a fist, save his index and middle finger, the priest held his hand close to his chest, moving it rapidly to create a number of varying signs. After a moment, he slashed down with his staff, firing a stream of white energy which cut the clay-armored fighter in two. (MLP:1700)

XXXXXXXX

Up in the observation booth, Professor Eizan continued to watch the duel with interest. He had long since finished reading the applicants essays, and felt compelled to pay close attention to the match. Every now and then he and his colleagues would grab their pen and scribble a note down as they watched him struggle against the E-Hero deck. It was one of the three strongest examination decks available, so the fact that he had lasted this long spoke a great deal about his skill level. In truth, the only weakness built into this deck was that the magic card, Skyscraper, had not been included in it.

"The boy has some promise." Dayu muttered as they continued to watch. As one, the other four turned their heads, shocked to hear such a declaration from the elitist.

Turning back to the monitor, Eizan shrugged it off. Of course, Dayu was right. The question in Eizan's mind, however, was not whether or not the boy would win. No, he was asking the exact opposite: why hadn't he already won?

XXXXXXXX

"My turn." Miya called, drawing a card. "I activate my drawn card, the quick-play card known as Storm of Relief, which forces us to sacrifice all magic and trap cards and then gain one thousand life points per card. So I'll lose my set card and my Mirage of Nightmare!" she called as she flipped the card around. Seconds later her magic card and set card exploded, giving her more life points and meaning she didn't have to discard two cards. (MLP:3700) At the same time, the maze pattern on the ground that had held back her monsters from attacking exploded, increasing Kazuki's life points as well. (KLP:4000)

"Next I play O-Over Soul to revive my E-Hero Burst Lady (1200/800) to my field." In a blaze of rose red flames, a female hero appeared. She had long black hair, a golden cap of sorts on her forehead, pushing her bangs back. Her clothing was a simple, skin-tight leotard that also covered her arms and legs, while a small mask was fit over her eyes. In each of her palms she also carried a ball of flames.

"Now I'll play the Polymerization I drew to fuse her with E-Hero Featherman (1000/1000) from my hand." Seconds later a swirling vortex appeared behind her and in flew the red garbed woman and a man in green with white wings who appeared only for a second. After a minute of distorting their images, the vortex stabilized, revealing a figure with green skin, thick muscles, and a mask that appeared to be draconic. However, his right arm, instead of the muscular, green one with five clawed fingers that was on the left side, it had what appeared to be a black dragon head. From its back sprouted just one angelic wing, finishing the rather odd combination. "This is Flame Wingman (2100/1800)."

"That monster hardly has any attack points as far as fusions go. Does it have an effect?" Kazuki commented, his voice sounding hopeful that there was no effect. After all, this woman was a professional when it came to dueling mechanics, and so if she summoned this monster to face his powered-up Ancient Priest, there had to be a reason, right?

"He does have an effect, yes, but that's not why I summoned him." the instructor continued, holding up the two cards that remained in her hand. "I use the Polymerization I retrieved with Friendog to fuse Flame Wingman with Sparkman!"

'_He's using a fusion monster as a fusion material monster?'_ Kazuki gasped to himself, having never considered such a possibility. Yet, here it was. Right before his eyes the blue and gold armored Sparkman and the green-skinned Flame Wingman were entering a fusion vortex together.

What emerged had to be one of the most magnificent monsters Kazuki had ever seen. Covered in thick cybernetic armor, the new monster stood about the same height as the Flame Wingman had. His legs were thin, but appeared to be powerful, as did his arms, all wrapped in the silver armor. And now, instead of the single wing of the Flame Wingman, this new monster had two identical wings, each one lined with long, metallic feathers on the outer edges.

"This is Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100)!" Miya introduced.

"Whoa!" Kazuki muttered in awe. "Cool."

"It gets better." she persisted. "Shining Flare Wingman gains three hundred attack points for every E-Hero in my graveyard. I have Flame Wingman, Sparkman, Burst Lady, Featherman, Edgeman, Clayman, Earth Crusher, Black Lightning Striker, Wildman, Bubbleman, Thunder Giant, and Necro Darkman all in my graveyard." she declared, listing the twelve monsters who would power up her monster.

"Also, he has inherited the effect of his previous form, Flame Wingman. When he destroys a monster, that monsters attack points will be taken from your life points." she explained with a small wink and smile. "Now, Shining Flare Wingman (6100/2100), attack Ancient Priest (3500)! Shining Shooter!"

Soaring silently up to Kazuki's monster, the hero began to charge an orb of silver-blue light between his hands. Once he was just a few feet away from the scarlet robed magician, he fired, burning him away, as well as twenty-six hundred life points from battle damage. Then, as his life point counter ticked down, the effect of her monster took over to deal him another thirty-five hundred points of damage. (KLP:0)

_To Be Continued..._

_Next Time-Kazuki's lost already? But if that's the case, then how is he supposed to get into the Academy? To enter as a Dueling Major, you can't possibly get enough points just from the written exam to get in. Wait, what's that? The Professors are arguing?_

_Next Time-Rise to Defend_

There you have it. The beginning of my Academy fic. Interesting start, no? For those new to my writing style, I hope you enjoyed it, and that you will continue to read this as I work on it, as well as my other story, _Return to Battle City: Wandering Souls_, and it's new sequel, _Era of Souls: Guardians Eclipse_.

Also, for cards used, understand that most of the E-Heroes used already exist, but I either used their Japanese name (Ex-Edgeman is the Japanese name for Blade Edge), or I used a card that has thus far only appeared in the Japanese version (Ex-Shining Flare Wingman). However, a few of the cards used were by me. They include:

Thunder Clap, Storm of Relief, Black Lightning Striker, Earth Crusher, Hero's Noble Struggle, and all of Kazuki's cards (Except for Card Destruction and Corrosion of Earth). Also, Repayment of Losses belongs to Seeker of the Soul. You'll see it a lot in my works, and even more so in his.

See ya.


	2. Rise to Defend

Welcome to my second chapter. I would like to thank everyone for all the reviews I've already received and for the great praise you all had for me.

Quick note, I made a mistake last chapter by having Miya attack a turn early while Ancient Maze was in play, and for that I apologize. As for Bubbleman, I purposely tweaked his effect because, as a writer, you sometimes gotta do that.

Now, onto the story!

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Two-Rise to Defend**

"_This is Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100)!" Miya introduced._

"_Whoa!" Kazuki muttered in awe. "Cool."_

"_It gets better." she persisted. "Shining Flare Wingman gains three hundred attack points for every E-Hero in my graveyard. I have Flame Wingman, Sparkman, Burst Lady, Featherman, Edgeman, Clayman, Earth Crusher, Black Lightning Striker, Wildman, Bubbleman, Thunder Giant, and Necro Darkman all in my graveyard." she declared, listing the twelve monsters who would power up her monster. _

"_Also, he has inherited the effect of his previous form, Flame Wingman. When he destroys a monster, that monsters attack points will be taken from your life points." she explained with a small wink and smile. "Now, Shining Flare Wingman (6100/2100), attack Ancient Priest (3500)! Shining Shooter!" _

_Soaring silently up to Kazuki's monster, the hero began to charge an orb of silver-blue light between his hands. Once he was just a few feet away from the scarlet robed magician, he fired, burning him away, as well as twenty-six hundred life points from battle damage. Then, as his life point counter ticked down, the effect of her monster took over to deal him another thirty-five hundred points of damage. (KLP:0)_

Up in the observation booth, all of the onlookers stared in awe at what had just happened. Never before had any of them seen an examiner struggle so much, nor had they seen anyone need to go to such extremes of power to win.

"Well, he wont be attending." Professor Dayu Masuko said off-handedly as he brushed off his yellow blazer. "And he was the last one. So, let's pack up and get ready to return to the island." Taking a few steps towards the door, he froze and turned on his heel after realizing that none of the others were following. "Well, what's wrong with you all?"

"Dayu, you're wrong. He will be attending the Academy." Professor Kita Saira finally said, lifting her eyes to meet his.

"Indeed," Professor Edo Idane continued for her, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the collar of his red shirt. "Have you seen his scores on the written exam?" Turning the small monitor in front of him around, the Osiris Red teacher tapped in a command and in large, bright numerals it read "98".

"It doesn't matter." Dayu continued with a shrug. "He's applied as a Dueling major. As such, he requires at least two hundred and fifty points overall, and each part of the test is only worth one hundred and fifty points. Even if he had scored a perfect on the written, he still couldn't make it in."

"Dayu, have you forgotten that the dueling examination is not just about if he wins or loses?" Keiko Hitsumi added, pulling a lock of amber hair behind her ear.

"Of course that's what it's about. That is how one checks the skill of a duelist. How can one have skill and lose?" Dayu defended.

"Dayu, you know just as well as we do that all throughout the examination we are supposed to monitor the duel and give points where needed. When the candidate makes a play that is outside of the box, or if they show great promise as far as keeping track of events, plus their ability to make effective moves quickly; they all combine with a number of other aspects that we have to watch for. Kazuki Katsura just earned one hundred and twenty points in that duel, and when combined with the one hundred and forty-seven points earned in the written exam, and he ends up with a total of two hundred and sixty-seven points." Professor Eizan Kiske said, staring forward and resting his chin against his intertwined fingers, the elbows propped up on the table.

"Nonsense!" Dayu yelled. "There's no way anyone could lose, make the mistakes he made, and still get enough points to enter."

"Dayu, he only lost thirty points for losing and then another ten for occasional mistakes and such. He got in." Kita declared, her voice rather curt. "You should know that an applicant can only lose thirty points for losing, anyway."

"It doesn't matter!" the head of Ra Yellow bellowed. "Anyone who loses to an examination deck has no right to be at the Academy. That's how it's always been, and that's how it shall remain so long as I am around."

At hearing this, three of the head proctors shot up in their seats, looking about ready to become a small mob to drag the arrogant one out and beat him to death. Then again, it was a rather appealing idea. Dayu had been a nuisance for far too long, and because of his actions, many students who felt cheated by him (rightfully so) had dismissed the Academy and gone off to one of it's sister schools -North, East, South, and West- and it was hurting the main Academy far more than his attempts to stack it full of "elite" duelists.

"Kita, Keiko, Edo," Eizan said loudly, yet somehow still sounding soft, calm, and rather pleasant. "Please, no need for this." he smiled for a moment before turning to Dayu, and suddenly his words were firm. "You say that no one who is defeated by an examination deck has a right to be at Duelist Academy, did you not?"

Without hesitation, Dayu responded. "Yes." Then, taking a minute to realize that Eizan was still staring at him with those silver eyes, friendly, yet demanding, he decided to ask his own question, "Why?"

Standing up and walking over to the cabinet filled with examination decks, he pulled the doors open and reached towards the top shelf. Seconds later he closed the cabinet and turned back to the Ra Yellow teacher.

"In that case, I challenge you to a duel. You use your own deck, and I'll use this." he explained, raising his hand slightly to emphasize the deck he was holding. "I have one of the other two of the three decks we use for testing advanced applicants. I don't know which deck this could be, except that it is not the E-Hero deck. That means that until we get down onto the field, I have no way of changing the deck at all. That means that whatever flaws we built into it are still there, and that I'd be at a disadvantage, that I will." he explained, smiling again.

Taking a minute to consider this, Dayu quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out his own personal dueling deck. Nodding to Eizan, he walked out the door and took a left turn towards the arena. Sighing, Eizan started to follow, but was stopped suddenly.

"Eizan, what exactly are you planning?" Kita asked sincerely.

"I'm planning on helping a boy from getting cheated, and maybe dozens more after him, that I am." he answered as he walked out of the room, his long jacket flapping at the bottom edge around his knees.

XXXXXXXX

"I can't believe I lost." Kazuki muttered as he leaned against the wall of the hallway he was in. Fifty feet ahead of him lay the exit. That was his destination. From there, he didn't have any idea where he'd go. "I...I don't have anything now. I had staked it all on getting into the Academy."

"Kazuki!"

Turning his head, was surprised to see Miya Masuto, the teacher who had beaten him only fifteen minutes previous, locking him out of the Academy. For some reason that he couldn't discern, she was running towards him, and urgent look on her face.

"Professor Masuto," he welcomed with a deep bow. "If you've come to apologize, it's fine. I just-"

"No time for that." she said, coming to a stop a few feet away from him. "Come on, we gotta get back to the arena."

"Why's that?" he asked, puzzled.

"Just get your ass in gear and get it into that stadium!" she ordered, grabbing his wrist and practically dragging him. Then again, he really didn't put up any resistance, his curiosity combining with the shock of how abrupt and informal she was being, despite her obvious superiority to him.

XXXXXXXX

"So let me get this straight," Dayu said as he and Eizan stood across from each other, inserting their shuffled decks into their duel disks at the same time. "You're dueling me in order to get that kid into the Academy?" (DLP:4000)

"It goes beyond that, that it does." Eizan declared, drawing his opening hand. (ELP:4000)

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Ra Yellow teacher asked, his tone curios. When he didn't get an answer, he turned his attention to his cards. "This'll be easy. I summon Zolga (1700/1200) in attack mode." A figure that seemed to be a dark colored prism set on a larger prism with a cape hanging from it appeared. "And then I play my Treasure of the King's continuous magic card, and set two cards face down." he finished as the face up magic card appeared, with two face down cards on either side of it.

Looking at his cards, Eizan quickly discerned which deck he had picked, and smiled. It was one of the more powerful ones, yet also one of the hardest ones to use. Unlike the other examination decks, which had certain cards and combinations removed to balance them, this one had it's strategies at their maximum. The flaw in this deck was the fact that it was packed with a number of high level monsters than was beyond reasonable. Summoning them normally wasn't a problem, so long as you didn't get a hand packed with monsters all of level five, and far too many of level seven or higher.

"I summon Diamond Soldier (1800/1600) in attack mode." he started, placing the card onto his duel disk. What appeared was a man in armor that was obviously created from white diamond, wielding a sword that was made of the same material. "End turn." he declared. He didn't have any magic or trap cards to use, sadly, so summoning his monster was all he could do. Attacking while his opponent had two face down cards would be reckless if he didn't have any magic or trap cards to back himself up.

"Ah, the Dragon Rider deck." Dayu chuckled as he drew, giving himself four cards in hand. "I had suspected it might be that one. It makes my strategy all the more effective against you. For instance, I activate my trap card, Sacrifice Limit. While it's on the field, neither of us can sacrifice more than one monster each turn. Although some of your Rider's will help you to bypass that, most of your monsters will still require you to sacrifice two monsters."

"That was a fair move, Dayu." Eizan said while smiling again. Taking a second, he glanced up to his right, and was pleased to see Miya return with Kazuki in tow. Seconds later he turned back to his peer and was serious once again. "However, it doesn't make up the difference between us, that it does not."

"You think I did it to handicap myself and to give you a fair chance against me?" Dayu laughed, obviously missing the point Eizan had been trying to make. "I sacrifice my Zolga to summon my Flame Emperor Thestalos (2400/1000)!" Dissolving into nothingness, Zolga was quickly replaced by a figure in old samurai armor, wielding a katana of pure fire. "And now I get three effects. First is Zolga's. Since I sacrificed it to summon a monster, I gain two thousand life points." he explained as his life point meter rose, not that Eizan needed an explanation. (DLP:6000) He had seen Dayu duel as a final test to promote his students, so he was relatively familiar with the strategies of his deck. "Next, since I tribute summoned a monster, Treasure of the Kings allows me to draw two cards. Finally, since Thestalos was tribute summoned, I discard one card from my hand, and if it's a monster, you lose life points equal to its level multiplied by one hundred!"

Again, Eizan did not need an explanation, but he remained silent as the fellow instructor rambled. Raising his hand of five cards, fanned out in his fingers. Finally, Dayu chose the one that was second to Eizan's right. Without saying a word he placed the level seven monster into his graveyard. Seconds later, Thestalos swung his sword, launching a stream of flames at Eizan to simulate him taking damage from the loss of his monster. (ELP:3300)

"Now, Flame Emperor Thestalos, attack his Diamond Soldier!" Raising his infernal blade, the fire powered samurai struck, his flames hot enough to burn through the solid diamond of the opposing sword and armor. (ELP:2700)

"I may have just lost my monster, but you should have known not to destroy Diamond Soldier, that ye should. Now I get to place any of the jeweled dragons from my deck and place it into my hand." Eizan countered as his duel disk ejected a card from his deck into his waiting fingers.

"My turn ends." Dayu concluded, folding his arms and smirking haughtily.

"My turn." Eizan began his turn, holding six cards, one of which he had chosen himself. "I summon Emerald Paladin (1300/200) in attack mode." A figure in shimmering emerald armor appeared, hefting a shield and spear both of pure emerald crystal. "When summoned, Emerald Paladin lets me special summon my Emerald Dragon (2400/1400) from my hand to the field in attack mode!"

Slapping the card from his hand onto his duel disk, Eizan waited as the holographic image of the large green dragon, it's back covered with a shell of emerald crystals. "Now that they're together on the field, Emerald Paladin, union with your dragon!" he commanded. Leaping into the air, the Paladin somehow managed to soar nearly twenty feet into the air, and then shifting his weight he managed to land perfectly on the back of the neck of the wyrm. "When combined, Emerald Dragon gains three hundred attack points-"

"And a trample effect. I'm aware of what the cards do." Dayu said with a bored tone, although his only monster was outclassed by this unification.

Smiling, Eizan shrugged and continued. "I set one card face down and then I'll have Emerald Dragon (2700) attack your Flame Emperor Thestalos! Emerald Burst Stream!" Opening its maw, the dragon prepared a massive ball of emerald flames. Seconds later its rider kicked in with his heels, prompting the beast to release the attack. With no trouble whatsoever, it burned the samurai away. (DLP:5700)

"Also, don't forget that Emerald Dragon has an ability itself. When it destroys one of your monsters in battle, is destroys one of your magic or trap cards as well." Eizan pointed out. Much like he suspected, Dayu had forgotten about the effect, and watched with annoyance as his set Royal Command exploded.

"My move." Dayu called, drawing. "I set a monster in defense mode, and then I set two cards face down. End."

"Draw." Looking at his new card, Eizan's eyes light up for a moment. "I play Tiny Pound Hammer, allowing me to shuffle itself and my hand back into my deck and then draw that number of cards. So I get a new hand of four, that I do."

Taking his deck from its holster, he placed the cards from his hand on top and then shuffled with the skill and speed of a professional duelist. Returning the stack of cards to the machine, he drew four cards from the top with a single tug, and then glanced at his new options, definitely pleased more with the new cards.

"I play my own continuous magic card, that I do. It's called Frontline Base." he started as his own green-framed card appeared on his field. "This card allows me to special summon a level four or lower union monster from my hand each turn. So I'll use that ability to summon my Amethyst Knight (1700/1200) in attack mode." A warrior in armor the lavender color for which it was named appeared, spear raised for its attack. "He would normally summon my Amethyst Dragon from my hand, but since I don't have one in my hand, he will instead allow me to draw a card."

Lifting the top card of his deck into his hand, Eizan smiled with confidence and slipped the card into his magic zone face down. Next he took one of his cards and played it in his magic zone and another continuous magic card appeared on his field next to his Frontline Base. "I'm sure you recognize Dragons Trophy, allowing a player to draw a card whenever a dragon monster destroys a monster in battle, that it does."

"And then you attack, I understand, now let's get on with it." Dayu whined, something that did not sit well with Eizan. After all, Dayu knew that Emerald Dragon currently had the ability to deal damage, even if the monster was in defense mode. That meant that his monster either had a relatively high defense score to minimize the damage, or one of his three set cards was intended to hold off his attack, and he was rather sure that it was the latter. Then again, there were reasons he had set his face down cards.

"Emerald Dragon, attack his monster!" Preparing the ball of green flames, the dragon set its sights on the horizontal card image. Half a second later it released the attack, the flames streaking towards the monster.

"I activate my two set cards, Oppression and Enchanted Javelin!" Dayu shouted as he depressed two buttons on his duel disk and the two cards he had set the previous turn flipped up. "First to resolve will be my Enchanted Javelin, which will increase my life points by the attack points of your attacking monster." he needlessly explained as a long spear with wings appeared in the path of the attack. Absorbing the attack into itself, the lance began to glow with a golden light until. Turning to point its end at Dayu, it was launched by an unseen hand, crashing into the ground at his feet and exploding into a shower of light, raising his life points further. (DLP:7900)

"And then your Oppression quick-play card switches my monsters into defense mode." Eizan finished orating the maneuver, his features bemused for some reason. "At least I didn't have any monsters already in defense mode, since they would have been destroyed, that they would have. Oh well, that ends my turn."

Drawing, Dayu plotted his next move carefully. "I play another continuous magic card known as Compensation of Rebellion. After I pay the activation cost of one thousand Life Points, this card allows me to have two normal summons each turn, and allows me to bypass my Sacrifice Limit so long as I only do one sacrifice at a time." (DLP:6900)

Taking another of his three remaining cards, he played it in his magic card zone. "Monster Reincarnation will allow me to discard Noble Lineage to return Thestalos to my hand. Then, Noble Lineage activates when it goes to the graveyard, and it allows me to search my deck for a monster of level four or less in my deck and add it to my hand." he cackled as a card ejected from both his graveyard and his deck, meaning his hand remained at three cards. "Now I'll summon the monster I searched for, namely Thestalos' Apprentice (1500/100) in attack mode."

Dressed in thick leather clothing instead of armor, the new figure was shorter than the previous five monsters, and his sword seemed to be made of wood, except for the metal hilt which kept his hands from being burned. "Now, because of Compensation of Rebellion I get to summon again, so I sacrifice the Apprentice for Flame Emperor Thestalos (2400/1000) once again."

As the fire samurai appeared, Eizan's eyes widened slightly, as he understood what this meant. By sacrificing Thestalos' Apprentice for Flame Emperor Thestalos, the summoning effect of the new monster was enhanced. Now he had to discard his entire hand and he would take three hundred points of damage for each discarded card.

"I see that you recall what this card does. Excellent, then discard your hand." Dayu commanded impatiently. With a slight frown, Eizan did so, placing his two cards into his graveyard. He was just glad it was only two cards. (ELP:2100) "Also, please do recall that Treasure of the Kings is still active, and since I tribute summoned a monster, I get to draw twice."

Fanning out his three cards, Dayu frowned slightly before snapping the cards together and turned back to the duel. "Thestalos, attack Emerald Dragon." Raising his sword, the master of fire charged forward, blade blazing. Swinging down, he was suddenly stopped by a crystalline dome around the dragon. "I see, the card you set two turns ago was Diamond Shield."

"Indeed it was." Eizan grinned, nodding to the now face up magic card. "And, as you know, this negates your attack and allows me to special summon a jeweled dragon from my hand. At least, I could if I had cards in my hand." he said sheepishly as he lifted his empty palm. "But, it still negates your attack, that it does."

Snorting dismissively, Dayu ended his turn, meaning it was once again Eizan's turn. Drawing, he sighed at the look of his only card, unable to use it for now. "I switch my two monsters to attack mode, that I do." he said, reaching for his duel disk and turning both cards ninety degrees. "Now I will have Emerald Dragon attack your Flame Emperor! Emerald Burst Stream!" Again the dragon fired its attack of, well, fire at the fire monster, overwhelming him and burning him away, ironically. And, because a dragon had destroyed an enemy monster, Eizan got to draw a card thanks to his Dragon Trophy. "Amethyst Knight will attack your face down monster, that he will." Thrusting towards Dayu's monster with his spear, the purple armored warrior struck, the attack shattering the card. (DLP:6600)

"Draw!" Dayu shouted, whipping the card off of his deck. "I summon Zaborg's Pupil (1500/100) in attack mode." A young man in white armor appeared, two long spines running up from his back along his shoulders. "Now I sacrifice him to summon Thunder Emperor Zaborg (2400/1000) in attack mode. And this emperor destroys all of your monsters when summoned by sacrificing his student."

Replacing the white armored man was a new figure in thick white armor. He wasn't particularly tall, but each section of his body was rather large -thick arms, legs, torso, etc. Extending from his back was a rack of spines that crackled with electricity. As he landed on the field, the spines on his back began to vibrate with an unusual amount of power. As the voltage increased, his entire body began to shake with the force until he couldn't contain it anymore, and he leaned forward, directing the electricity from the lightning rods towards Eizan's monsters, incinerating them.

"You may have destroyed my dragon and my knight, but since Emerald Paladin (1300/200) was equipped to Emerald Dragon, he returns in defense mode!" Eizan shouted as the green armored warrior descended, having leapt from his mount at the last minute to save himself. Landing in a crouch, he crossed his arms over his chest defensively.

"Heh, so you've avoided losing this round." Dayu scoffed, brushing away some of his brown hair that had fallen out of place due to the electrical buildup of his monster. "Zaborg, destroy Emerald Paladin." Holding his arms in front of him with his palms facing up, Zaborg chanelled energy from the spines into his hands until he held two balls of active lightning. Thrusting his arms forward, the two blasts joined into one attack, frying Eizan's monster.

"Draw." Eizan began calmly, despite the fact that the tables had once again be turned on him. Now he had three cards in his hand, no monsters on his field, three of his magic and trap zones filled, and limited to a single sacrifice each turn. However, it would have to do. "I set one magic or trap card face down and summon a monster in defense mode. End."

Drawing a fifth card, Dayu smiled. "You've been rather quiet for the past twenty minutes outside of declaring your moves. Didn't you have some great lecture planned for me, teacher?" he mocked, putting emphasis on the last word. Eizan continued to stare at him, yet his face wasn't hard or fierce, just calm. "Well, if you aren't going to even try and stop me, I suppose I'll just finish you off and then I want you to leave the Academy."

Taking one of his cards, he slammed it into another magic zone. "I activate a third continuous magic card, this one being my Imperial Rule. This card allows me to remove a monster in my graveyard from play, and in exchange I can activate the effect of an Emperor or Empress on my field that is of the same attribute as the removed monster. So, I remove Zaborg's Pupil from play to have Zaborg destroy your monster." Raising a fist, the master of lightning charged it with electricity from his back. Once he was ready, he punched at Eizan's face down monster, launching a ball of electric power at the monster, destroying it instantly.

"I summon Sangan (1000/600), and then sacrifice it to summon Dark Emperor Mendrarg (2400/1000) in attack mode! Also, Sangan lets me search my deck for a monster with fifteen hundred or fewer attack points and add it to my hand, plus two cards from Treasure of the Kings." On his field appeared a monster that really could only be described as a ball of fur with three eyes, short and wiry arms, and stubby feet. Instantly it disappeared and was replaced by a monster in thick black armor, the edges rounded and smooth. On his back was a massive, curved piece of black metal, looking like a crescent moon with the outer edge facing down. "This monster, when summoned, allows me to pick one card in your hand. I then get to discard cards from the top of your deck equal to the level of your card, which is then returned to your hand."

Grimacing, Eizan turned the only card in his hand around, revealing his Pearl Dragon, which was a level five monster. Frowning, he took five cards from his deck and discarded them.

"Next I'll access the power of Imperial Rule once again, removing Sangan from my graveyard to discard five more cards." Again Eizan dropped the necessary number of cards into his graveyard. "Now, Zaborg will attack you directly for the win!" Charging energy to his fists again, the thunder user powered up his attack, finally firing a massive volley of voltage at Eizan. Suddenly, however, an eruption of light from Eizan's cemetery activated. Seconds later the onlookers could see a shadow forming within the light, growing and taking form.

Once the light died down, it became obvious that the form that had emerged was another dragon, this one of diamond that appeared white on the surface, but seemed more of a light blue if one stared into it for a minute. It's massive wings were wrapped around it's body and it's long neck dipped the head down behind the protective wall as well, making it look kind of like a massive egg-shaped diamond.

"How did you summon Diamond Dragon (2100/2800)?" Dayu asked, started by the development.

"I did it with your help, that I did." Eizan responded, nodding towards the two monsters on his opponents field. "The monster you destroyed with Zaborg's effect was Carbonedon, and once there are ten cards on top of it," here he paused and shifted his gaze to Mendrarg. "I can remove it from my graveyard to special summon Diamond Dragon."

"Damnit." Dayu cursed lowly. "I can't break through your monster, since I've already used Zaborg's effect this turn, plus I don't have any more light monsters in my graveyard. You're safe for now. Go."

"Then I will draw, that I will." Eizan began, giving him a hand of two, and one was a level five monster that wouldn't improve his situation at all. "I will pass my turn, that I will."

"Got nothing, eh? Well, I'll set one card, and then I'll play my Royal Edict continuous card, which allows me to fit one extra card into each of my magic zones." he laughed as he filled his last two magic card zones, with four holographic images between him and his monsters, and one more face down. "Then I'll summon my Teylos' Caretaker (1500/100) who I searched out with Sangan last turn, and I'll sacrifice her to summon Forest Empress Teylos (2400/1000)."

"And since you sacrificed Teylos' Caretaker to summon her, I now discard my hand, and you draw an equal number of cards." Eizan concluded as a figure dressed in a flowery kimono appeared. The figure may have looked relatively normal if not for the fact that it's body was essentially a tree, branches ending in fingers for hands, and the trunk apparently split towards the bottom to create legs.

With an evil smirk, Dayu drew four cards, two from his monsters effect and two from his Treasure of the Kings. That meant he held six cards once again. Grabbing three of his cards, he slammed them into magic zones on top of his other cards, the face down images appearing in front of the upward images of his continuous cards.

"Regrettably, I can't get past your dragon right now. As such, my turn is over." Dayu ended, his field growing all the more impressive.

Drawing a single card, Eizan sighed in relief. The Carbonedon he'd removed and Dayu's summoning of Mendrarg had been a Godsend. For now, he was safe, but it was only a matter of time before Dayu had a light monster in his graveyard with which to use Zaborg's effect and destroy his dragon.

"I summon Crystal Templar (1600/1700) in attack mode." A warrior in crystalline armor and gripping a staff with a curved blade at the end appeared on his field. "And when summoned, Crystal Templar allows me to special summon Crystal Dragon (2500/1900) from my graveyard. The Crystal Dragon that you discarded when you summoned Thestalos the first time."

Next to the glass covered knight appeared a dragon seeming to be made of glass itself, it's body rigid and pointed.

"Now my monsters will union together, and my dragon will gain one hundred attack points, plus another hundred for each of your monsters on the field!" he continued as the warrior mounted the dragon, raising its attack power to twenty-nine hundred. "Crystal Dragon (2900/1900), attack Lightning Emperor Zaborg! Crystal Shard Strike!" Folding its wings around its body for a minute, the dragon seemed to be going on the defensive, until it snapped the wings open again, flinging a literal wall of pointed glass shards at the monster. Seconds later Zaborg fell to the ground in pieces, having been shredded by the attack. (DLP:6100)

"And since a dragon destroyed one of your monsters, I get to draw a card." Eizan continued, but was surprised when his duel disk resisted his attempts to draw. Glancing at the device in confusion, he then looked up at Dayu and his field, and found his answer. "At least, I would draw a card if you hadn't activated Imperial Order, negating my magic card for the time being."

"That, plus my Royal Decree, negating trap cards." Dayu continued as another of his set cards flipped up.

"And so, to avoid cancelling out Imperial Order or your other cards, you'll next activate your face down Impervious Magic Shield, which keeps your cards from being negated and cannot be negated itself." Eizan once again finished explaining Dayu's combination. It was extremely deadly, but Dayu was always in such a hurry to promote his students that he ended up revealing his combinations more often than he should have. "Of course, that means that you still have to pay seven hundred life points each turn for your Imperial Order."

"A paltry sum." Dayu said as he drew a card, since Eizan had no more cards to play. "First, I pay for my trap card." he said as his trap card glowed for a minute and his life points dropped slightly. (DLP:5400) "I switch Mendrarg and Teylos to defense mode and set a monster in defense mode. End."

"Then it is my turn, that it is." Eizan declared, drawing. Glancing at the card, he chose to keep it in his hand. "Diamond Dragon switches to attack mode. Now, Crystal Dragon, attack Mendrarg! Diamond Dragon, attack Teylos!" As one, the two dragons released a storm of flying glass and diamond, slashing the two elemental masters to pieces. "My turn ends, that it does."

"Draw!" Dayu shouted, whipping a card off of his deck, and again his life points dropped slightly. (DLP:4700) "I set two monsters in defense mode, and end my turn."

"Crystal Dragon, Diamond Dragon, attack!" Eizan commanded as he drew his card, and again a wall of shimmering glass pelted Dayu's field, destroying the monster set previously, as well as the middle one. "Turn end."

Drawing, Dayu's life points dropped again as Imperial Order took effect. (DLP:4000) "I...I pass my turn." he stuttered, unable to understand how he was suddenly on the defensive again.

"Diamond Dragon, attack his set monster!" Eizan commanded, and seconds later the monster card image was in ribbons, fluttering to the ground. "Crystal Dragon, attack directly!" This time Dayu had to dig in his heels and lift his arms to protect himself as the attack passed, not actually cutting him or his clothing, just feeling like he were being pelted by a dozen tennis balls. (DLP:1100)

Drawing a card, the head of the Ra Yellow dorm growled in annoyance before making his declaration. "I refuse to pay life points, and so Imperial Order is destroyed."

"Good to hear, that it most certainly is." Eizan smiled warmly as the trap card shattered. However, Dayu obviously wasn't very happy, as he shoved his card into a magic zone with a low snarl.

"I first play Legalism and Kings of Old. Legalism allows me to use the effect of an Emperor or Empress each turn, but that monster must skip its attack for the turn. Also, when an Emperor is summoned in any way, its effect will activate. Kings of Old does the same thing as Imperial Rule, except I discard cards instead of removing them from play." he explained as he filled up his last two magic zones for a second time.

"And you've played them why?" Eizan asked, genuinely intrigued. He'd never seen either of these, and he was curious as to how Dayu planned on utilizing them in this situation.

"Well, first I'm going to discard Kings of Old and Imperial Rule from my field to play the magic card, Heavily Edict, which by itself has the effects of both of those cards, as well as powering up all of my Emperors and Empresses by two hundred."

"Next I play Kings Ransom to pay one thousand life points and then draw four cards." he continued, draining all but his last few life points and then snatching four new cards, giving him five in his hand, and no more than five more in his deck. "Now I summon Celia's Servant (1500/100), who I will sacrifice to summon Holy Empress Celia (2400/1000)!" he shouted as a woman in a white toga appeared and then faded away, replaced by another woman, this one in a sapphire blue gown and ruby red hair that reached down to the floor of the arena.

"And when summoned by sacrificing her Servant, she increases your life points by a value equal to the attack points of a monster on the field." Eizan determined and then watched as Dayu's life points restored themselves thanks to his own Crystal Dragon's attack power. (DLP:3000)

"Next I will play Soul Charge, paying one thousand life points to revive two monsters from my graveyard." he continued as a third of his life points vanished and Zaborg and Mendrarg appeared. (DLP:2000) "Now, normally they couldn't attack this turn, but I don't need them to. Remember, Legalism makes it so that an Emperor can activate his effect whenever he's summoned, so Zaborg will first destroy your Diamond Dragon, and then Mendrarg will reveal one of your cards to mean and then discard cards from your deck equal to the level of the card you show me."

Sighing, Eizan turned the card that Dayu pointed at, revealing a magic card, meaning he only had to discard one card from his deck. Seconds later Zaborg released another bolt of lightning from his back, incinerating the light blue dragon.

"I play Polymerization to fuse Mendrarg, Celia and Zaborg together!" Eizan watched in surprise as the fusion vortex appeared behind the three monsters and began to pull them together. He had heard about this, but he'd never seen it done. "I can fuse any three Emperors or Empresses together, and they create Galaxy Emperor Ecraos (3400/2000)!"

The monster stood barely taller than Dayu, it's body small compared to all the previous Emperors. It was garbed in black robes with various star patterns on them, and a staff that had what seemed to be a small model of the universe making up the head, only it wasn't a model made of brass or wood. It actually seemed to be a tiny galaxy resting at the head of the stave.

"This monster is quite unlike the others. Each turn I may remove a monster in my graveyard from play to activate the effect of any Emperor as if I were summoning it. So, I removed Zaborg to activate his effect and destroy your Crystal Dragon."

As Dayu pocketed the chosen monster, his fusion monster raised his staff, and instantly a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky and destroyed Eizan's monster, leaving only the warrior who had ridden it in a crouch.

"Ecraos, attack!" he ordered. Again lifting his staff, the magician fired a beam of energy which defied description, seeming to be comprised of every element at once. When it struck, it did not destroy Eizan's Crystal Templar so much as it seemed to negate him from existence. "Turn end."

"Then the time has come to end this duel, that it has." Eizan said, drawing. "Dayu, the time has come for you to leave Duelist Academy. But first, you need to learn what a true teacher is, and why you are not one of them, that you do."

"Oh, so now you want to lecture me." Dayu shot back. "Listen, we're both teachers, and as such, equals, except for my superiority as a duelist."

"Is that what you think?" Eizan asked. "I can't understand how you became a teacher, but you don't deserve such an honor. And so now I'm gonna strip you of it."

"Honor? Teaching? Feh!" Dayu scoffed. "I only teach because it means I can sit on my ass and get lots of pay, thanks to the fact that Kaiba pays so well."

"Exactly my point. You don't teach. That's why you always have qualified duelists demoted to Osiris Red and why you only take elite applicants. It means that you can quickly get them promoted, and at the same time you only accept students from Osiris who are beyond qualified, and so you don't have to teach them anything. You do nothing, letting their previous teachers and talents do all the work, but you claim the credit, that you do. That's not what teaching is, that it is not. Teaching is about the student and the instructor and how they both progress as humans. In the hands of a proper teacher, the wildest, most unlikely student can come the perfect duelist, so long as they're both willing to give it their all, that they can.

"Look at you and the way you duel. Each of your Emperors has a student or apprentice. That pupil has gone under its master to learn. Yet the master selfishly gives up his student to increase his own power, but only for a short moment. That's not the way of teaching, that it most certainly is not."

"They're kids. They're monsters." Dayu insisted.

"A student may at first be like a dragon, wild and limited in terms of intellect. However, just like the dragons that I now use, once combined with one who can help them to be controlled, they can unlock their full potential. I will take Kazuki Katsura and I will refine him into a diamond!"

Taking one of his three cards, he flipped it around. "I activate Refining Process, which allows me to special summon a jeweled dragon from my graveyard at the cost of one thousand life points!" (ELP:1100) On the field appeared a massive lump of crystal, several feet taller than Eizan. Seconds later the sound of the crystal cracking could be heard, and then it shattered, revealing Crystal Dragon (2500/1900).

"Now, reverse card open!" he continued as he activated the card he had set many turns before. "Revival of the Diamond Blade will transform my specially summoned Crystal Dragon into Diamond Head Dragon, who has one thousand more attack points than the monster sacrificed to summon him." Instantly the white dragon flashed with a bright light, and seconds later re-emerged as an even larger dragon with pale green scales and large, spiked diamonds pointing out of its back, as well as the massive diamond on its forehead that lanced forward.

"It's still-"

"It's enough to beat your Galaxy Emperor, and it's about to be strong enough to finish you." Eizan continued, whipping another of his cards around. "Pot of Greed to draw twice!" Seconds later, "Cost Down to discard a card and then lower the level of all monsters in my hand by two." Grabbing the other card he'd been holding before playing his Pot of Greed, he activated it. "I summon Diamond God Soldier (2200/2400). This monster can be equipped to any jeweled dragon. So now I equip him to my Diamond Head Dragon (3500/2900), and that raises his attack points by five hundred for every dragon and dragon rider monster in my graveyard. I have seven, so that will now double his attack power, that it will."

Eyes wide beyond belief, Dayu watched in horror as the opposing dragon's power skyrocketed beyond belief, coming to a rest at seven thousand.

"But...but I'm a professor! I can't lose to...to an examination deck!"

"You just did." Eizan declared. "Diamond Head Dragon (7000), attack Galaxy Emperor Ecraos (3400/2000)! Diamond Spear Burst!"

Opening it's mouth as wide as it could, the dragon began to gather the air around it and concentrate it into a sphere of wind. Then, with a mighty howl it fired the built of wind, carrying with it huge, pointed shafts of solid diamond, spearing straight through Ecraos, destroying him in less than a second. (DLP:0)

"Someone who loses to an examination deck has no place at the Academy?" Eizan asked of his fallen colleague. Then, turning on his heel, he spoke on last note in a voice low enough that only Dayu could hear him. "I expect to hear word of your official resignation by tomorrow evening, that I do."

Up in the stands, Kazuki couldn't believe what he'd just seen. What the mysterious teacher with black hair had just done was amazing, and he had done it with just an examination deck. Sadly, he hadn't been able to hear what they had said. He would have loved to hear what two teachers say to each other while dueling.

Focusing on the black-haired professor, he was startled to see that he was looking straight up at him, smiling warmly.

_To Be Continued..._

_Next Time-Thanks to Professor Eizan Kiske's actions, Kazuki is on his way to Duelist Academy. Time to meet new people, and to give classes a try. But why is Professor Kiske so nice to him?_

_Next Time-First Day_

Well, got that done, and not too bad, if I do say so myself. But now, I gotta stop procrastinating and do my American Heritage project this weekend, or I'm screwed. Wish me luck.

For cards, most of those used in this chapter are mine or Seeker of the Soul's. I created the Emperor deck about nine months ago, and when I needed a deck for Dayu to use, it were too perfect. In fact, the comment made about the Emperors and the student forms didn't occure to me until I was nearly done writing this. Pretty cool, ne? Also I chose to use the name Emperor/Empress, as is used in the Japanese version, instead of Monarch, simply because I think Emperor sounds cooler. Seeker, on the other hand, created the idea for the Dragon Rider deck, which I then expanded upon. Our cards are as listed:

Diamond Dragon (Effect version of Hyozanryu using the Japanese name that I created), Emerald Dragon (Effect version of Luster Dragon using the Japanese name that I created), Diamond Soldier, Emerald Paladin, Crystal Dragon, Crystal Templar, Amethyst Knight, Refining Process, Diamond God Soldier, Diamond Shield, Pearl Dragon, Dragon Trophy, all the Emperors/Empresses (Except for Zaborg and Thestalos), and all those continuous cards Dayu used (Except for Imperial Order, Royal Decree, Royal Command, Sacrifice Limit, and maybe one or two others). The combo of Imperial Order, Royal Decree, and Impervious Magic Shield was created by Seeker of the Soul, who created Impervious Magic Shield for such a combo.


	3. First Day

Here we are again. Finals are over, as is my last semester for a while. Indeed, I am currently home in Maryland, and will remain there until the spring, at which point I will return to BYU-Idaho. In truth, I really don't know if that will improve my updating time or not. Bare with me, please, and enjoy!

Also, I would like to thank G.O.T.Nick for creating Professor Yoriyoi Katsu.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Three-First Day**

Standing on the deck of the large boat, Kazuki looked ahead, gazing at the island where the Academy was, his stomach turning with excitement. He was just beginning to be able to make out a vague outline of the school itself, which was built in the very center of the volcanic landmass, and took up about a third of the total area.

However, despite his excitement, he continued to turn over the letter he had been given moments after getting onto the boat. Most students got just their dorm assignments and instructions for signing up for class, along with a list of class rules. However, Kazuki had an extra page addressed specifically to him, although he wasn't sure who had written it.

"_Kazuki, I regret to inform you that, although you did earn an amazing score on your written exam, as well as an impressive amount of skill was displayed in your duel, you will be in the Osiris Red dorm. Please understand that myself and the other teachers have done everything we can to get you the position you deserve, circumstances beyond our control have forced our hand, and so you are currently the highest ranked first year student in Osiris Red. However, if you continue to show the same skills as seen at the entrance exam, I am sure you will be promoted in no time. _

_Sadly, I also regret to inform you that 'in no time', in this instance, will be no sooner than next year. As already stated, there are circumstances which we cannot control at work, and we are being forced to adapt as best we can. For now, we don't want to burden you with too much, though. As such, you will receive further information and instruction concerning your position at the school over the course of the first marking period. Until then, enjoy your studies and work hard."_

That was it. No name or anything. Not only that, but in their attempt to avoid burdening Kazuki's mind with details, that had instead burdened him with a lack of information and the anxiety of what might be in store for him. What kinds of conditions could have been placed upon his enrollment at the academy?

Sighing, he folded up the letter and placed it in his backpack. As for his dorm, he really didn't care. Things weren't the same as they used to be, back when Osiris Red was considered to be more of a curse than anything else. So long as he could stand his roommates, he wasn't too worried.

XXXXXXXXX

In another section of the boat there was a large room where all of the teachers had gathered together. On the wall in front of them was a large screen, which currently displayed the face of a man in his middle ages. His hair was a faded brown that was combed to his right, while his eyes reflected a youthful spirit, despite the wrinkles that were just starting to appear on his face. He was dressed in a white shirt and tie, with a formal purple coat hanging open over it all.

"Professors, I have just received word of Professor Dayu's resignation from the Academy." he began, his voice friendly, though it also carried evidence of authority. Although this news was already common amongst the teachers on the boat, they knew that the other staff members who had remained at the school were currently watching this same broadcast in their rooms on the island, and they wouldn't have known about the events at the testing center yet. "In conjunction with this, we are in need very suddenly for a new head of the Ra Yellow dorm before the students arrive at the school. I want to avoid as much chaos as I can, and for new students to arrive and have no dorm head would definitely be something I'd like to avoid."

Nodding, the teachers on the boat agreed, and they knew that their colleagues back on the island were doing the same. However, for those on the boat they had been considering this for the past few hours.

"So, I would like to hear any nominations you all may have." the man in the purple coat continued.

"Principal Tsuji, I nominate Professor Eizan Kiske." a feminine voice on the boat piped up, causing all present, including Eizan to turn and see who. Of all those who did turn, though, only Eizan himself had a look of confusion on his face. It was as if the others on the boat had already voted on this without him. As such, while those around Eizan remained silent, they could hear discussions of consideration and consent from the speakers tuned to microphones in the rooms of the other teachers.

Smiling, Eizan turned away from Miya and turned back to the monitor and the camera above it that would transmit what he had to say back to the island. "Principal Tsuji, although I am honored by this proposal, I would like to say that I would prefer to not become the new head of Ra Yellow." At this, every teacher began to look around in confusion, unsure as to why their fellow teacher would turn this down.

"In that case," a voice interjected before anyone would question the smiling instructor. A screen on an adjacent wall to the principals turned on, revealing a young man in his office with deep red hair. "I would like to propose someone else. I originally wasn't going to say anything since I figured Eizan would be chosen, but since he's turned it down, I would like to cast a vote for Edo Idane."

"That makes sense." Keiko Hitomi added, standing in front of Eizan. "Edo's done a great job in Osiris Red, and it's only logical that he be the one promoted to the new position."

Nodding, Seiki Tsuji turned away from the monitor in his room of the young man who had made the nomination, and back to his staff as a whole. "All in favor?" Instantly a wave of hands rose up, consenting to the proposal. "Opposed, if any?" This time, only one hand was lifted above the sea of heads.

"Flattered as I am," Edo said sheepishly, "I like Osiris Red. Please, choose someone else."

Taken aback, Principal Tsuji cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. Again he looked into the camera in his office. "Any other ideas, or do I need to assign someone?" Silence. "Very well, Professor Saira, I would like you to fill the position." he dictated, pointing into his camera, although it was only relevant to those on the boat, who turned to look at the brown-haired woman in her late twenties.

"Um, Principal, I'd really rather-" Kita Saira began, nervous about how to refuse such an order.

"Principal Tsuji, I have someone in mind." Edo suddenly declared, raising his hand, and again all heads shifted back to him. "I know someone who wouldn't back down from the proposition. He's a splendid teacher, and he'd do great things in Ra Yellow."

"Yes, who is this?" Seiki demanded, remaining calm, although it was obvious he had already grown tired of this ordeal, and for good reason. The boat would arrive in less than an hour.

"Professor Katsu Yoriyoi!" Edo called with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Yoriyoi?" a few people asked, rather surprised by this idea. Although they trusted Edo and his judgement, his proposal was odd, for one very simple reason.

"But he's only been teaching for one year." the young man with red hair finally said.

"True, but he's more than qualified. His skills as a duelist will help him to quickly get the students respect, and he is one of our more successful teachers. Remember that last year, even as the newest teacher at the school, he had the fifth highest percentage of perfect scores in the entire school, and his class was one of only three to have all of its students pass."

"I second the nomination, that I do." a voice called, and everyone turned to see Eizan with his arm raised. Seconds later, Kita raised her arm, then Keiko. Quickly thereafter, other teachers began to raise their arms, including the young teacher with red hair. A few moments later Principal Tsuji glanced at all of his monitors and then back at his camera.

"Kastu Yoriyoi, do you have any objections?"

"None whatsoever." a young voice declared over the speakers.

"Very well. Since you're already here on the island, could you please report to my office to receive a few items." Seiki spoke, and smiled. Although Katsu never turned on his camera, so no one could see him, it was assumed he must have nodded or somehow signaled his compliance. "Good, very good. Alright, could all Professors on the island currently, except for Katsu, please finish your preparations for the arrival of your new students. Those of you on the boat, please prepare the students. Oh, and Eizan," he added as a last minute thought while other teachers filed out of the room. "Are you sure about what we talked about earlier?"

"I've never been more sure in my career, that I have not." was the reply before the screen blacked out.

XXXXXXXXX

Wheeling a suitcase behind him, as well as a large duffle baghanging from his left arm, and finally a significantly smaller duffle bag looped over his shoulder, Kazuki headed towards the Osiris Red dorms. As he did, a single thought was on his mind: _'I think my bodies going to pop!'_

Sighing with relief as he reached his door, he set his large back down to free up his hand. However, when he tried to grab the doorknob, he found that he couldn't move his arm, the muscles so severely strained. It would take several minutes before he regained mobility of said arm. Sighing again, he waited.

"It's not locked." a voice from within called. Then it went on to say, "Shoryu, put my guinea pig back in his cage!"

Sighing in frustration, he waited a few minutes more before managing to grab the knob, twist, and then lightly slamming his weight into the door, it popped open. Sadly, he realized too late that he had put his duffle down in front of him, so he couldn't move his feet forward to try and catch himself. Also, as he tripped the smaller bag around his shoulders shifted from underneath his arm to in front of him, meaning it was now pulling him forward and down.

Landing with a loud "thud", he seethed in pain as he rubbed his knee, which had been the first part of him to hit the ground. Opening his eyes, he quickly realized that all heads currently in the common room were looking at him. Thankfully, there weren't very many. Just a man with blonde hair hanging down to his shoulders and wearing a red blazer. There were also a few other students hauling suitcases toward the stairs.

"Um...hi?" he uttered while flushing pink with embarrassment. Picking himself and his bags up, he dropped his head and stared at the ground while he made his way to the table where the man in the blazer stood. "Um, I'm Kazuki Katsura." he muttered lowly.

"Ah yes, I remember. Excellent duel with Miya. I was there, and even though you lost, you did remarkably well. As such, you are entering here as the top ranked first year duelist in Osiris Red, and I doubt it will take you long before you are the best in the dorm." the professor smiled back as he checked off a few boxes on the chart in front of him. Then he reached into a box next to the table and lifted out a package in plastic wrap, which he handed to Kazuki. "This is your uniform, which you will be expected to be wearing to all classes. Tonight, after we get everyone checked in we will distribute extra uniforms to everyone so that you have a weeks worth. Also, here is your dorm key." Taking the uniform and key, Kazuki bowed and then retreated towards the steps.

After several minutes of laborious tugging and pulling, he finally managed to make it to the third floor. Taking the key out of his pocket, he double-checked the actual number. _'Room 325.'_ he mentally mumbled as he checked the nearest doorframe, which read "302." Sighing, he pushed onward, coming to a rest at the final room in the hall. Inserting his key into the small hole, he twisted, and the door swung open on its own weight.

Gasping, Kazuki took in his room. It was larger than he had expected, with a sturdy desk, solid wood frame bed, and even a couch. Stepping in, Kazuki was surprised by how new the carpet felt under his step. Looking around, he also noticed that the walls looked as if they had been painted recently.

Leaving his two duffles on the floor he hoisted his large rolling bag up onto his bed and unzipped it. First to be withdrawn was a large briefcase, which he set into his closet on the floor against the wall. Then he started to take out books, hand carved figurines he had collected over the years, a duel disk repair kit he had bought in order to keep his older model in shape, and various other items.

A few hours later he was fully unpacked and setup. Looking around, he suddenly realized something. "I have this great dorm, but there's only one of everything. I thought there were supposed to be three to a room."

Walking back down to the lounge he found the professor who had greeted him when he walked in still sitting at his table, only there didn't seem to be any other students about. As he approached the table the teacher turned and smiled at him.

"Yes, Kazuki, how may I help you?"

"Professor..." he began when he realized he hadn't yet learned the mans name.

"Edo Idane." the blonde man finished for him. "Please, continue."

"Yes, well, I just finished unpacking, and I realized that it seems that I wont have any roommates." Kazuki explained.

"Ah, yes, sorry, I should have told you. You see, do to some last minute changes a few students got to retake their exams, and as a result got into Ra Yellow, which had a few openings. However, there wasn't any time to recall anyone who had failed, so instead you get your own room."

Nodding in understanding, Kazuki bowed and returned to his room. Sighing, he decided to slip into his new uniform to make sure he got the right size. Removing it from the plastic envelope he unfolded it and snapped it in the air a few times to try and get some of the creases out. As it turned out, he was only provided with a jacket and pants, so the rest was up to him.

A few minutes later he was placing his folded up jeans into his drawer and then buttoning up his jacket, but leaving the top one or two undone. Lying down on his bed, he laced his fingers behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Yo! Kid!" a voice shouted in Kazuki's ear, startling him from the state of sleep he had apparently fallen into. Jerking his body slightly in surprise, the first thing he did was hit his forehead on the narrow shelf built into the wall to hold his alarm clock.

Rubbing his head in pain, the next thing Kazuki realized was that his ears were ringing. Reaching up to message his ears, he was surprised to find something was already there. Shaking his head to try and get a grip, he realized that the prongs of a stethoscope were in his ears, and the young man who had awoken him was barely keeping his fingers wrapped around the end of the cable as he laughed hysterically.

Dislodging the device from his ears in annoyance, Kazuki rubbed his ears to end the ringing and then turned his attention on the young man, who was dressed in an Osiris Red uniform. He had forest green hair, and seemed to be shorter than Kazuki by several inches.

"And you are?" he grumbled, annoyed that he had been awoken in such a manner.

"Oh man!" the boy laughed. "That was great. You were like 'Wha!' And then you smacked yourself on the shelf just like I had expected you to."

"Again I'll ask: who are you." Kazuki repeated, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Oh, ah..." the boy continued to laugh, though he did seem to be taking measures to regain control of himself. Swallowing a few times, he stood up straight. "Sorry, names Yoshida Tsumara. I live on the second floor and was just checking out the other rooms and getting to know people and all."

"How'd you get in here?" Kazuki asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, if you really must know," Yoshida began, hushing his voice and leaning in close as if he were going to share some great secret. "I recommend that if you don't want to be pranked worse, you should keep your door closed and locked."

XXXXXXXXX

"Enter." Professor Yoriyoi, the new head of Ra Yellow called as the knocking at his office door ceased. Turning up from his computer, he was please to see Professor Kiske enter. "Eizan, how may I help you?"

"I assume you heard about Dayu." the silver-haired teacher began as he closed the door. In response, his younger colleague nodded. Breathing deeply, Eizan quickly formulated the correct wording for what he was about to ask. "I have a favor to ask of you."

XXXXXXXXX

Switching off his alarm clock, Kazuki shifted out of his bed and quickly straightened out the covers. Snatching up the clothes and towel he had laid out the night before, he made it way for the floor bathroom. It was the first day of classes, the weekend of orientation finished, and so he was rather excited, so getting up wasn't much trouble for him, despite the fact that the sun wouldn't begin to rise for another hour. He had always been an early riser, and he had started his time as Duel Academy no differently. Besides, this meant he got some quiet in the shower, plus all the hot water he could ask for.

An hour later he stood at the door of his room, fully dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed, and backpack slung over his shoulder. Checking to make sure he had his key and that the door was locked, he began to exit, pulling the heavy door closed as he did. Jiggling the handle a little, he confirmed that it was indeed locked. He had already begun to make a bit of a habit of this ever since Yoshida had warned him about locking the door, and then after seeing the level of maturity displayed by the majority of the Osiris Red boys, he had established a firm foundation of resolve to follow through.

Clutching his pocket tightly he made sure he still had his key. The day before he had forgotten it and had a hard time getting into his room since Professor Idane wasn't in his office until late at night, meaning Kazuki couldn't get a hold of the spare.

Another hour later and Kazuki was sitting in the front of the lecture hall of his first class, Deck Construction and Card Analysis. Slowly the hall filled up, and within the next twenty minutes the room was packed.

"Welcome, class, to Deck Construction and Card Analysis 101." a friendly voice called, causing a number of heads to turn and watch the isle as a man with silver hair in a black button-up-the-front shirt and silver tie made his way towards the front. Once he reached the large stage-like area at the front he tapped a few keys on the computer on the side and then clipped a small black box to his belt. Seconds later all questions about the black box were dismissed as his voice came over the speakers lining the walls. "I am Professor Eizan Kiske. You may use any combination of those words when addressing me, that you may, so long as at least one of them is 'Professor'." Turning back to the computer, the professor tapped in a few more commands and then rounded back on the class.

"In this class we will analyze various deck types, there strategies, various single cards that have had whole decks made for them, and much more, that we will." he continued to explain as a projector turned on, flashing the image of a Duel Monsters card on the screen. "Now, in my class we will operate on what I call Higher Level Thinking, which uses a four point scale, that it does. Can I have a volunteer?" Looking out at the sea of about two hundred students, he was disappointed to not find one hand raised. Finally, pointing towards the back he let his focus fall on a girl in a Ra Yellow uniform. "Riza Mairen, is it not?" he asked, and she nodded.

Standing up and making her way to the isle, many of the young men in the class watched in awe at her. Dressed in the skirt and jacket of Ra Yellow, she stood at about five and a half feet, with platinum blonde hair, bright emerald eyes, and a very attractive and slender body. Best of all, it seemed that she didn't even _try_ to look this good, which caused the hormone-plagued mind of the average teenage boy to try and imagine her potential.

As she stepped onto the platform where Professor Eizan was, he pulled a shinai out from behind his podium and met her in the middle of the stage. "Riza, may I hit you across the head with this shinai?" he asked.

Taken aback and flushing with a mix of surprise and embarrassment, Rizan took a second to answer. "No."

Smiling, Eizan turned to the class. "That was a level one answer, that it was, because she has answered the question, that she has." Turning back to Riza, he placed the tip of the bamboo sword against the ground and held it under his palm as anyone would a cane. "Why not?"

Looking at him as if he were insane, which currently didn't seem too absurd of an idea, Riza again took a moment to answer. "Because it would hurt."

"That, class," he said, again turning to them. "Was a level two answer, because she has explained why she doesn't want me to hit her, that she has." Again his attention shifted back to the blonde girl. "How do you know it would hurt, may I ask?"

Suddenly, realization seemed to hit Riza, and she smiled with a great inner confidence. "I've been hit before, and so experience goes to show that it causes pain."

Smiling at the fact that she was starting to get the feel for it, Eizan turned to the class. "Level three, that it was. She has backed up her answer. Now, Riza," he pressed, turning to face away from her and pacing to the other end of the stage with a very casual step about him. "Why would it hurt?"

"Pain receptors in my body would fire off nerves through my body to my brain with lightning speed, causing me to feel pain." she explained without hesitation this time.

With a massive grin, Eizan turned back to her, swinging the shinai to his side offhandedly. "And that is level four, having used extra evidence and reasoning outside of a textbook to explain her answer, that it was. Well done, Riza. You may return to your seat, that you may." With a bow, she left the teacher alone on the stage.

"Now, class," he continued, taking a remote out of his pocket and pointing at the screen. Seconds later the image of the card changed to show a monster with no effect and standard attack points. The image was of a man in purple robes with a green staff in his hand. "This is the Dark Magician (2500/2100). Anyone care to give me a brief synopsis of this card and how it could be utilized"

Raising his hand swiftly, Kazuki decided to give his hand at this higher level thinking a try. "Shinji." Eizan said, pointing to an Osiris Red a few columns to Kazuki's right, much to his disappointment. Rising to his feet, the named boy raised his voice so he could be heard.

"Well, since the Dark Magician himself has no effect, he has been supplied with a number of support cards, such as the Dark Magic Curtain and Skilled Dark Magician to make summoning him easier, or Thousand Knives to enable him to destroy monsters without fear of triggering effects or dealing with stronger enemy monsters. Also there's Magicians Tomb to increase his attack points to thirty-two hundred." Shinji rambled, ticking cards off of his fingers, seeming to avoid direct eye contact all along. "Oh, and Buster Blader can be used to help create the Dark Paladin. Plus, Buster Blader himself has some good support cards to help make it easier."

"Thank you, Shinji, that will do, that it will." Eizan cut the boy off with a smile. With a bit of embarrassment, Shinji took his seat. "Now then, since we're going to be running out of time, and since we don't yet know each other, I'm going to take it easy on you, that I will. I'm going to give you the remainder of the class to work on your homework assignment, which shouldn't be too hard. I want you to either list for me your current deck, or your ideal deck. Next, I want an essay explaining the major focus of that decks effects, strategies to utilize those cards and their effects, and why you chose that deck. That will be all, that it will." he ended, switching off the screen. Instantly students pulled out paper and pencils, or laptops, in the case of some students, and began to furiously scribble/type.

A little while later the bell rang and students began to stuff items into their bags and rise to leave. However, for whatever reason, Kazuki was moving significantly slower than the others, and so no one else was near by him when he finally stood up.

"Kazuki, could you hold on for a moment." he was suddenly stopped by the voice of his teacher. Turning, slightly startled, Kazuki's head began to instantly spin, trying to figure out what he had done that would cause the professor to ask him to hold back.

"Don't worry, Kazuki, you're not in any trouble, that you are not." Professor Eizan smiled as he approached. "No, I wanted to make a proposal to you."

"How do you know my name? How did you know the name of everyone else in the class?" Kazuki suddenly found himself blurt out as if he hadn't heard the instructor say anything at all.

"Well, I know many of them because I was there at the entrance exams, overseeing the tests, so I memorized a number of the new students names that way. Also, have you forgotten that one of the first things you did when you got here was to get your ID picture taken? When that happens, a copy of each students image is sent to me, and so I spend part of my weekend memorizing faces, that I do." Eizan explained without skipping a beat.

"Oh. Well, what was it you wanted again." Kazuki asked, feeling very foolish.

"Well, I noticed in your duel with Professor Masuko that you're definitely ready for a higher level course, but since you're in Osiris Red I can't advance you to a higher class level without you first taking the pre-requisite classes. However, I've spoken with another teacher, and he has agreed to allow you to take his class as a sort of extra credit course, that he has. It's the two hundred level version of my class, and so mine is the pre-requisite, that it is. You wont have to do any homework or take any tests unless you want to, except for the Final Exam, that you will. If you pass, you get credit. If not, it's as if you were never in the class, that it is."

"But, all of the classes are filled." Kazuki pointed out, confused by the proposal. Again Eizan smiled.

"I spoke with him several days ago, so we signed you up just to make sure. If you don't want to take it, then I will explain to him and he will erase you from the list."

"I..." Kazuki trailed off, unsure. "Can I give it a try first and see how it works out?"

"Of course." Eizan smiled. "I need to go over anyway for a minute, so I'll show you the way."

Heart racing, Kazuki got to his feet and followed the silver-haired teacher out of the room and to another lecture hall a few rooms down the hall. It was already filling up with students, and so Kazuki had to take a seat in the middle, much to his discomfort. He had always sat up front, so this made him feel rather insecure.

With his now apparently normal zeal, Eizan stepped up to the stage at the bottom of the slightly sloped room.

"Class, I would like you to meet the new head of Ra Yellow dorm, that I would. He's a respected colleague of mine, and a world class duelist, Professor Katsu Yoriyoi." Eizan called with another warm smile, motioning behind him, and the named man walked onto the stage.

He was a tall man, just barely over six feet, with a limber body, black hair combed straight back, square glasses, and black slacks with a white button-up-the-front shirt. However, distinguishing him in this occasion was the yellow overcoat he wore loosely over his shoulders, letting it fan out at his waist. Pinching one arm of his glasses between his right middle finger and thumb, he adjusted the frames slightly before raising both of his arms in a cheer, and then lowering one to grasp Eizan in a friendly headlock at his side.

"Welcome students!" he bellowed, strong traces of emotion in his voice. "Let me say it is an honor to be teaching you, not as a normal professor, but as head of Ra Yellow. And I owe so much of it to this fine man here." At this, he jerked his arm slightly, causing Eizan to choke for a moment, though Katsu didn't seem to notice. "Why, not only did he take it upon himself to risk his entire career just to expose the previous dorm head as the fraud that he was, but he then turned down the opportunity to become head of Ra Yellow, and was the one to second my nomination." Again he hoisted the teacher at his side a bit, causing him to gag as he tried to breath.

"Katsu!" he shouted as best as he could from his position, which wasn't very great. Turning to look at the man in his arm, Katsu had a curious look to his face.

"Yes, Professor Kiske? How can I help you?"

"I don't mean to be rude, that I do not, but I really should go and prepare for my advanced class that starts in twenty minutes. Besides, you have a class to teach right now, that you do."

Snapping his head up as if struck with a revolutionary thought, Katsu immediately released Eizan, who dropped to the floor with a yelp and then a thud. Clearing his throat, Katsu rubbed his hands together and took a few steps closer to the students while Eizan picked himself up off of the floor.

"Class," he began again, his voice suddenly losing that immense cheer from ten seconds ago. Turning his head, he made sure he took in every single student. "Welcome to Strategic Analysis 201. In this class we will examine varying duel scenarios and decks in an attempt to learn one important thing: Out of the Box Thinking. I want you to use this semester to learn how to use the most simple and unlikely move to break free from the most impressive deadlocks you may encounter. You must be prepared for whatever situation you may find yourself in. No matter how well toned a deck may be, if you do not learn to come up with new strategies with whatever cards you draw at whatever time, then you increase your chances of failure."

As he began, Eizan lifted himself to his feet and silently made his way out of the room, headed back towards the lecture hall he had come from. As he grasped the doorknob, he turned his head and sent one last thought back to the room he had come from. _'Give it your all, Kazuki. It may seem harsh to expose you so early on to that class, but you will come to understand that I had little choice.'_

Back in Professor Yoriyoi's room, he had just finished taking role and was returning to the front of the stage when he was interrupted by the door swinging open and a young man in a second year Ra Yellow uniform walked in, seemingly unaware that the class had begun nearly ten minutes before.

"Excuse me, young man, but please, next time, could you arrive thirty minutes before class, three minutes for every minute you were late." Katsu said, his tone not seeming to be bothered by this, despite his words.

Rolling his eyes, the young man jerked his head in a half-nod. "Yeah, sure, whatever."

Turning back to the class, Katsu gave them all a stern look, although his eyes betrayed a glimmer of some inner light of excitement. "Now, we will start the day by-"

"What?" a voice nearly shrieked. With annoyance, Katsu quickly located the source, narrowing his eyes when he realized it was the same Ra Yellow who had interrupted just a few minutes before. He seemed to have just been speaking with a friend next to him, and whatever they had been discussing had obviously upset him. "You mean some pansy-assed teacher forced the best instructor this school had into resigning? That's bullcrap!"

"What was your name?" Katsu asked, his voice remaining calm, although his face reflected an inner fury that had just been sparked.

"Arata Nakadai." came the reply, very off-handedly. Somehow, Arata didn't seem to notice that now the entire class was looking at him, many of them seeming to think that he was insane.

"Arata, thank you for volunteering." Katsu growled, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Say what?" the arrogant voice responded.

"Would you please be so kind as to come down here." Katsu growled, tapping a button on his computer and a table rose out of a compartment under the stage. "Today we're going to be looking at overcoming an Exodia strategy." he explained, indicating the table, which had two decks on it, hands already drawn.

Looking annoyed, Arata stood up and made his way down to stage and stood across from the professor at the table. Picking up his hand, his eyes widened in surprise for a moment. There, staring up at him, were four of the five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One! (ALP:4000)

Tapping another command into the computer, Katsu made his way over to the table, the scree above them displaying the field. Picking up his hand, he began to explain. "Now, I arranged your hand of cards and then shuffled your deck. That means that it is entirely up to you to make the winning move. On the other hand, the deck I will be using was fully shuffled and the hand I have is entirely random." (KLP:4000)

"Wait, so I have all of the card drawing and searching power of an Exodia deck, and I only need to find one piece?" Arata asked. "You _want_ me to humiliate you on the first day?"

"I think you'll find that it wont work quite like that." Katsu replied, although he did not smile. For Kazuki, it was almost unnerving. Professor Katsu was such a different person from Professor Kiske, who was warm an encouraging.

"Whatever." Arata snorted, drawing a card. "I play Graceful Charity to draw three cards and then discard two." he said, sounding bored as he picked up cards from his deck, and then quickly dropped two of them on top of his graveyard pile. "One of the cards I discarded was Repayment of Losses, so I draw again. Then, I play my Different Dimension Capsule to remove a card in my deck from play, but in two turns it goes to my hand." he said as a bright blue sarcophagus appeared on his field, opened, and then the image of a card sliding into it and then being sealed. "Finally, I set one card face down and end my turn." he finished, leaving him with a hand of five.

"Not even a monster to protect you?" Katsu sighed, looking disappointed.

"Why bother? In just two turns I'll win automatically, and the chances of you finishing me off by then aren't all that great." came the reply.

"Arata, you need to learn flexibility." Katsu reprimanded. "Yes, Exodia is a deck that requires great focus in card drawing, searching, and hand protection. However, if that is all that you focus on, then it can easily be dismantled by an opponent who tries."

Holding up one of the cards from his original five, he turned it around and a large image of it appeared on the screen. "Tiny Pound Hammer allows me to shuffle it and my hand into my deck to draw that number of cards, so I get six new cards." he explained, continuing to stare harshly at his student, who wasn't even paying attention. "I had figured this would happen, but I had no idea it would happen on the first turn. I play Descent into Darkness to send three cards from my deck to the graveyard to destroy two cards on your field."

Picking up the deck from the table he fanned it out and picked three cards from various points on it and then placed them into his graveyard pile. Grumbling, Arata placed the two magic cards from his field into his graveyard.

"Even though I don't have my Negate Attack anymore to protect me, you'll only be summoning one monster, so I'm safe."

"Not in the slightest." Katsu responded, reaching for another of the cards in his hand. "First off, don't you know that when Different Dimension Capsule is destroyed, the card you chose with it must now stay out of play?" Eyes widening, Arata looked at the face down card next to his deck, which he now couldn't touch.

"You made a number of mistake right there, Arata. First you left yourself vulnerable because you relied solely on your set card to protect you for a few turns. Second, you relied too much on a single magic card to end this quickly. Finally, you didn't even take a single moment to think about what I might due, especially since I knew what kind of deck you were using." Turning his head, he addressed the class a whole. "Always be careful how to play. If you are reckless, you reveal to your opponent what kind of deck, or at least what kind of strategy you are using, and that bit of knowledge alone can ruin you."

"Shut the hell up and go." Arata responded.

"You would do well to learn to respect all teachers at this school, Arata, and not just those who help you get by without trying. Be grateful for a teacher who pushes you to your limits. Praise a teacher who cares for his students. Admire a teacher who is more concerned with your success than his own position." Katsu growled, firmly gripping the card he had been fiddling with, and then flipped it around.

"Renewal of Triplets lets me special summon three monsters with the same name from my graveyard to the field." Reaching for his graveyard, he picked up the top three cards, which he then laid onto his field and three identical monsters appeared on the large screen. Each was a large bird, probably with a two foot wingspan each. Each had a sort of crown of feathers on their head, and a long, thin tail, curved and coiled on itself reached out of their backsides. What was startling about them was that they were pitch black, their feathers along the back edges of their wings long and flimsy, giving the illusion that the wings were lined with flickering black flames.

"These are my Hellion Phoenix's (2200/1000), each with a few effects, but the one I'm currently interested in is the perfect one for finishing you off." Katsu continued to explain. "When special summoned from the graveyard, Hellion Phoenix instantly discards a card from your hand and then allows me to draw one card for each card you lose."

Eyes wide, Arata dropped the cards on top of the cards in his graveyard pile while Katsu drew. _'This is ridiculous!'_ he shouted to himself. _'I was only one piece away from destroying him! It should have been impossible for him to counter that!'_

"You've cheated." he snarled, although Katsu remained unfazed. "You stacked my hand, as well as yours." To his relief, a number of voices in amongst the students seemed to agree with this possibility. However, Katsu stilled seemed completely unaffected by this or the rather simple yet logical argument.

"I told you, Arata, that I only selected those four pieces of Exodia for your hand. The fifth card in your hand, as well as your entire deck, was randomized. My deck was the same, except I didn't know any of my opening cards until we began. You defeated yourself the instant you saw what deck you were using, because you jumped to conclusions about the situation, and thought it would be easy. You thought that, since I'm a teacher, I'll go easy on you to 'nurture' you and 'help you to develop.' You couldn't be more wrong. In this classroom, everyone is on their own and at their best. No exceptions."

"Bullcrap!" came the harsh response. "And, even if that's true, you're using a deck that is full of discard effects, which still isn't fair. Not only that, but it voids your entire lecture about 'being flexible' and crap."

"Again, you're jumping to conclusions, Arata." Katsu replied, his tone even, but extremely cold and judgmental. "This deck has a number of different effects and combinations for different situations. I could have chose a set of monsters that would deal you direct damage by being in the grave, or cards that discarded from your deck. I have a few monsters in this deck that grow stronger as time passes. However, I chose my Hellion Phoenix's because I knew you were trying to complete Exodia. It wouldn't have been long before you drew a card to return your Head of Exodia to play, and not long after that you would place him into your hand. I good plan, but only if executed correctly, with decoys set up to draw my attention and cards set up to protect yourself if I attack. You made the gravest mistake, Arata, when you not only underestimated me, but also when you ignored me. If you ever expect to beat anyone of merit, then you must try and think like they would and try to outmaneuver them."

"Spare me." the teenager huffed.

"You wont learn, will you." Katsu stated with disdain. "You will find, Arata, that if you ignore my lessons, you will fail." Turning back to the field of cards before him, he decided to declare his attack, and the life point counter on the screen above Arata began to count down. (ALP:700)

Blinking in surprise, Katsu double-checked the score, and was surprised to see it stay at seven hundred. Looking over at Arata, slightly confused, it took him a moment to realize what had happened, and then he too let loose a slight, although completely unheard chuckle.

"I see, one of the cards I discarded from your hand wasn't an Exodia fragment, but actually Force Redux. Since it went to the grave this turn, the attack power of my monsters was cut in half." Professor Yoriyoi called, mostly for the sake of explaining to those in the class not familiar with the card. Taking one of the three he had drawn when he summoned his monsters, he slapped it onto a monster zone. "Unfortunately for you, I had anticipated you might have something like that. Like I've been saying, expect the unexpected. So, I sacrifice two of my Hellion Phoenix's for my Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys (2400/2000) in attack mode. Then I'll set two cards face down, and end my turn."

Drawing a card, Arata seemed somewhat pleased with what he had drawn. True, it was the only non-Exodia card in his hand, so he had to hope for something good. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards." he said, pulling the cards from the deck. "Next I play Dark Hole to destroy all monsters on the field, so your two birdies go bye-bye." Without even blinking, as if he were bored, Katsu picked the two cards up off of the table and placed them neatly in his graveyard.

Without wasting another minute, Arata grabbed his other drawn card and played it. "Servant of Exodia (1600/1200), who allows me to draw a card when summoned. Then, whenever he does damage, I can discard one card from my hand to place a card pertaining to Exodia into my hand, as well as draw another card from the top of my deck. Also, if you try and destroy him, I can discard a piece of Exodia from my hand to protect him and increase his attack by three hundred. Servant of Exodia, attack him directly!"

Nodding, Katsu waited patiently as his life point counter ticked down by nearly half, as well as when Arata discarded the card he had drawn when he summoned his monster in order to pick up a card from his graveyard, and then drawing again. Setting his drawn card, he ended his turn. (KLP:2400)

Drawing, Katsu looked Arata straight in the eye, and suddenly, Arata felt a level of anticipation that he hadn't before. It was as if somehow this new teacher, the one who had replaced his favorite of the instructors at the school, was about to pass judgment.

"I must admit, you did surprise me by surviving the way you did, Arata." he admitted, although his tone was still cold. "However, you began this duel in such arrogance that you didn't take it seriously. If you don't push yourself in every duel to enter into, then you cannot grow."

Up in his seat, Kazuki leaned in even closer than he had been, which was pretty far. He was barely connected to his chair anymore, and his eyes were practically dancing with excitement. _'This Professor really knows what he's talking about!'_

Reaching for his graveyard, Katsu picked up a card. "Since she was destroyed by a card effect, Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys returns in attack mode, and destroys all magic and trap cards on the field." he explained as he took his two cards and Arata took his one and they placed them on top of their respective graveyards. "Next, I will summon Phoenix Rider (1600/1800) in attack mode, and he will union to Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, raising its attack power by eight hundred."

There was a certain level of anticipation in the room as he placed the monster onto the table and his monsters attack power rose to thirty-two hundred. Well, except for on the part of Arata, who actually looked infuriated by the twist of events.

"I attack with Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys (3200) and finish you off." Professor Yoriyoi declared, and Arata's life points plummeted. (ALP:0) With a brief nod, the teacher signaled the student to return to his seat, which he did with a low growl.

"Now, class, for tonight I would like an essay which either discusses the mistakes you saw in today's duel, or how you would use your own deck to combat an Exodia strategy. That is all." Katsu told the class and then they all rose to their feet and began to leave.

Five minutes later, Kazuki was still in his seat, the only one in the entire lecture hall. There was a look of pondering on his face, and his eyes looked as if they were far away.

Rolling through his head, over and over again, each time with a slightly different word combination, was a single question.

'_Do I always enter a duel at my best?'_

_To Be Continued..._

_Next Time-Kazuki has gotten off to an excellent start at Duelist Academy, already making it into the top five for test scores in the first year. But who's number one on that list? Are they that good at dueling? Meanwhile, Kazuki continues to think on the words of Professors Kiske and Katsu, and he's ready to put their words to the test! _

_Next Time-Burning Spirit of Ambition  
_

That was fun. Sorry it took so long, but with my traveling home for the holidays, spending time with my sisters and brother, and getting to play on my brother-in-law's Xbox (My parents didn't allow me to have video games when I was a kid), haven't had much time to think about this. Anyway, next up I'm gonna get back to work on _Era of Souls_, so for those of you who haven't read it and like my work, might want to try and catch up there to carry you over until I get back to this.

Also, original cards include Servant of Exodia, Hellion Phoenix, Phoenix Rider, Force Redux, and Descent into Darkness.

See ya.


	4. Burning Bright

Here we go again. I'm gonna work on this story for a bit, since I gotta overhaul a few decks for my other story. That, and now that I've finished this chapter it means we're on the verge of a duel that I've really, really wanted to write. Enjoy!

Note, I do not own the Shinedown song _Burning Bright_, though I did just get the cd last week and I really, really like it. The title of this chapter, however, has nothing to do with the song. At least, not intentionally.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Four-Burning Bright**

"Out of the way!" "Let me see!" "I am so dead..." "What'd I get?" These were the words spoken by the mass of first year students as they crowded around a single spot on the wall, though it was nearly impossible to decipher what they were saying as their voices drowned one another out.

Standing several feet away from the group of excited students, Kazuki waited patiently. Everyone was so anxious about seeing the scores for the latest test, and so he had decided to wait until the crowed thinned out.

Maybe it was because he wasn't worried about the possibility of failure that he could wait so calmly. Maybe it was the fact that he just didn't care about getting the right to brag. He really wasn't sure, and in truth he really didn't care. He simply wanted to know his grade just so that he could.

Then again, he had a pretty good idea of how well he had scored. It was the third test of the year, and in the previous two he had scored fifth and second, respectively. The former had been a Chemistry test, a subject in which he wasn't in anyway gifted beyond his ability to understand the barest facts of what he studied, which was probably more than what most could claim. The other had been in Professor Eizan's class, and he had only scored second because of his essays. Apparently he did not yet fully understand the unique grading system, and as such had written his essays in such a way that he lost a decent number of points, but was saved by his answers to the other questions.

"Damn that Masuko!" a voice suddenly shouted from the mass. In response the crowd grew in all directions as students backed away from the one who had shouted. He was taller than Kazuki and wore a white jacket with red lining, meaning he was a or third year Osiris Red student. Stomping away from the rest in a furry, he let loose a number of short murmurs which no one could make any sense of.

Watching the boy turn a corner, Kazuki turned back to the wall, waiting still for the herd to move on. It was strange to him how some students reacted to their grades. He understood that it could be frustrating, and sometimes just heartbreaking to get a low score on any test or assignment, especially when you gave it your all. Still, it was odd to Kazuki that someone would rather rant and resent the fact that they didn't pass or just weren't as good as they thought rather than just feel impressed that they should do better.

Finally, after a few minutes more, most of the students crowding around the posted grades had left, some disappointed, other relieved, and most feeling the same as they had before checking. Walking up to the large bulletin board, Kazuki quickly located the list for his Humanities class, which was only for half of a semester, but it was a prerequisite for another class he wanted to take the following semester.

Running his finger down the lefthand side of the paper he found his name about halfway down, and his test grade directly to the right of it. Quickly the corners of his mouth lifted into a pleased smile._'A.'_

Turning on his heel he began to leave in order to make room for others to check their grades, but was stopped suddenly by a figure stepping into his path. She was in a Ra Yellow uniform, the white jacket with yellow lining (which hugged her body very tightly) and the bright yellow skirt (which was probably too short for her to be comfortable wearing around). She had dark brown hair that was cut short on the sides, hanging down just past her ears while the back was grown out long and braided to the base of her back.

Blinking in surprise, Kazuki turned a few degrees to walk around her, but was stopped when a friend of the young woman stepped up next to her, again cutting him off and forcing him to make a sudden stop. Taking a step backward, Kazuki put some space between him and the girls in order to get around them on the other side, but was again stopped by the brown-haired one, who this time spoke.

"You're Kazuki, right?" Dumbly nodding, Kazuki tried to figured out what she wanted. "I'm Riza Mairen." she introduced with a light bow and giggle. Thinking for a moment, Kazuki quickly realized why he recognized her: she was the top-ranked of the first-year students.

"Yes, yes I'm Kazuki." he finally answered. When she did not react, he feebly lifted his right arm in a very, very weak wave. "Um...hi?"

Without warning, Riza's face broke into a smile and she grasped him in a hug. Startled, Kazuki couldn't do anything but just stand there while she embraced him. After a few minutes, she let go and held him out, as if examining some prize she had just won.

"You're the third highest ranked student in our year." she said excitedly.

"I am?" Kazuki asked, surprised. After just three tests, he was third? But how? He had scored fifth on one test, then second...

Whipping his body around he bolted up to the board again and noticed the marking in the third column of the grade sheet, which he had skipped last time. _'First.'_

Turning away from the board, he looked back at Riza and shrugged. So he was third, hm? Well, that was nice, but it was early on. Plenty of time for harder tests and for the other students to pull ahead.

"You didn't let me finish." Riza said once Kazuki had reached her again. He hadn't planned on stopping this time, but again she had cut him off. "You see, not only are you third ranked, but you're the first to score higher than I did on a test. I got first on both the Chemistry test and Professor Eizan's test."

"That's nice." Kazuki answered, trying to sound really into the discussion. Maybe if he did then she'd leave him alone.

"The reason I bring this up is because I want to duel you." Riza explained. "I didn't see you're entrance exam duel, and I want to know what my competition is like. I already beat the kid who got second place."

"But..." Kazuki tried to think up a response. "But I don't think I'll be ranked third for too long. No doubt someone else will manage to out rank me next test and that'll change everything. After all, it's just the third test of the semester."

"Maybe," Riza agreed, and Kazuki sighed, relieved. "But even if you lose your rank, you still scored higher than I did on a test. As such, I want to duel you and see what you're really made up."

Stepping back in fear, Kazuki was disappointed when Riza pressed forward. He tried to think of something to say, but his mind was reeling too fast, so many different thoughts going at once. Finally, on instinct, he did the only thing he could think of.

"What's that!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing behind Riza. Whether it was because she didn't realize his ploy for what it was, or if the panic in his voice made it so convincing was unsure, but either way Riza and most of the other students nearby turned their heads to try and see whatever he had been pointing at. Muttering a prayer of thanks to whatever deity had just saved him, Kazuki turned to his side and shot through the wall of students, taking a different hallway than he had originally planned.

XXXXXXXXX

"So, what do you think of the boy, Katsu?" Eizan Kiske asked as he placed a small figure down in an empty square. Across the board from him was his friend and colleague who had agreed to help Kazuki with advanced classes.

Looking down at the chess board, Katsu planned his move. Not that there were many moves that could be made, since they were both down to just two pieces each. Reaching down for one, he moved it to his chosen place before responding to the question without looking at Eizan. "I think that you're right that he has amazing potential. However, I think that he's also missing some very critical things. Check."

Scrutinizing the board, Eizan tried to think up a way of saving both his King and his Bishop from Katsu's Rook. After a few moments of silence, he moved his Bishop to intercept to offending piece before speaking again.

"True, there is a lot that he's missing, that there is. I'm just not sure how to talk with him about it at this point. We only have this year to prepare him, that we do, but I don't want to overwhelm him when he's just starting to adapt to life here at the academy, that I most certainly do not. Plus, I'd hate to get him all worked up about it and try to help him overcome all the weaknesses we've thus far discovered, but then miss something in all the chaos of preparing him. No, I think that we should wait and observe him for anything else, that I do. Besides, there's one more item I want to take care of before I scare hi-" he was cut off as Katsu finally took the Bishop with his Rook. In retaliation, Eizan instantly took the threatening piece with his King, freeing him from check, but at the same time...

"Stalemate." Katsu breathed. Standing up, he adjusted his glasses, picked up the tie he had placed on the desk, and nodded to Kiske. "I'll keep my eyes open. Still, we can't let this first month go to waste. Two weeks have passed, and we can't let any more go by."

XXXXXXXXX

Rubbing his eyes, Kazuki closed his textbook and slipped the homework assignment into his binder, which he then put into his backpack. That was the last assignment for the time being.

Glancing over at his clock, he smiled. "10:17. That gives me enough time to change, brush my teeth, and lay out tomorrow's clothes." he mumbled, setting about doing just what he had just listed.

Five minutes later he stood in front of his mirror, his tooth brush in action, a healthy foam coating his lips. As he shifted to brushing the upper teeth and gums, though, he was stopped by a buzzing sound. Freezing in surprise, he took the two steps over to his desk and with his left hand pressed the button on his Personal Organizer to play the message he had just received.

"You coward!" the small device suddenly shouted in a very feminine voice. Instantly he regretted having turned it on. However, there was no 'Off" button for these things, and so, rolling his eyes, he listened while he finished his teeth, only partially paying attention. "Am I asking too much of you? Just one duel. No strings attached. Or aren't you a man?"

Shaking his head, Kazuki dropped into his bed, flipped his lamp off, and drifted into sleep with a heavy yawn.

XXXXXXXXX

"That punk!" Riza vented, smashing her pillow against a wall. "You think he's scared, or just an asshole?" she asked, turning to her roommate.

"That," the girl in the bed groaned, obviously mostly asleep. "Or he's like most people and sleeps at 11:15 in the evening. Now go to bed; you're sounding like a stalker."

Ignoring her friend Riza glanced back at her Personal Organizer. "Stalker, hm?"

XXXXXXXXX

"I'm late!" Kazuki shouted, snapping awake in his bed, glancing at his clock, then outside to see the first rays of the morning sun creeping into his room. In truth he wasn't really late for anything, since classes didn't start for another forty-five minutes. It was just that that was half the time he normally had! "And it's all that girl's fault. She must have paged me at least three times before I took the battery out."

Snatching up his clothes he made a mad dash for the showers, hoping that at least one of them was available. He didn't know if the other guys had classes as early as he did. As he dashed out into the hall, he was forced to quickly whip around and catch the door before it could close. "Almost forgot my key!"

XXXXXXXXX

Quickly as he could, Kazuki shoveled cereal into his mouth, trying to make up for lost time. He had ten minutes left to finish eating if he wanted to make it to class on time, so he wasn't in any terrible position any more, but with the adrenaline still pumping through him, he couldn't seem to do anything but rush.

As he drained the last of the milk he became aware of the presence behind him. Stopping with his breakfast, he opened his eyes and shifted them to took at none other than Riza Mairen. Upon realizing it was her, his shoulders slumped forward and his head hung. Putting his now empty bowl on his tray he stood up to leave when she finally spoke.

"Coward." He did not respond, much to her irritation. Balling her fingers into fists, she shouted after him as he neared the drop-off point for his dishes, "Hey, asshole; we gonna duel or not?"

Taking a minute to collect herself, Riza realized that she now had the entire cafeteria looking at her, some shocked, others just caught off guard, others confused, and a number of other expressions. Blushing, she looked at everyone for a second, bowed, and then rushed out the doors after Kazuki, thoroughly embarrassed.

Seconds after she left the entire cafeteria returned to its previous state, as if nothing had happened.

XXXXXXXXX

"Class, I apologize for the wait, that I do, but I have finally finished grading that first assignment I gave you." Eizan declared to the class, earning him a bit of a cheer. Some cheered because it was simply the way they responded to any kind of news, others as a joke, and many because they had been looking forward to this. They wanted to get down to actually discussing _their_ decks in this class, not just random cards and deck ideas that Eizan presented them with while they waited for him to finish grading.

"Today I thought we'd look at one that I found very interesting." Eizan said, clicking a button on the remote in his hand and instantly the projector showed them a list of the cards in a deck someone had turned in. After just a few seconds the entire class burst into a fit of small laughter.

"What?" an Osiris Red from the end opposite Kazuki asked, oblivious to the reason why so many students were laughing at the sight of the deck. "What's so funny?" he asked again.

"Because," someone directly behind Kazuki called. "You have three Chaos monsters in this deck, but none of the other monsters in the deck are light or dark types. Without those, this deck is worthless. You could have the best individual cards in the world collected into one deck, but if they can't support each other, then the deck as a whole can't function."

"Now, now," Eizan called, eyeing the girl who had answered wearily. "No need to be so harsh, that there is not." Then, turning to the boy who had spoken. "However, what she says is true."

'_Wait.'_ Kazuki said to himself, realization dawning on him as Professor Kiske continued the lesson. _'I know that know-it-all voice...'_ Turning his head, he found himself looking up at Riza Mairen, who in response mouthed the word "Coward" at him.

An hour later, Kazuki was leaving class when he felt an arm on his shoulder. Caught off guard, he didn't know what to think or say as he was whipped around...to face the same young man who had submitted the deck that had been reviewed in class that day.

"Hey, you're a nice guy, and you get good grades, right?" Startled, Kazuki nodded. "Good, good. Listen, I was wondering if we could hang out a bit. Maybe I could start running my homework by you and everything. What do you say?"

"Um..." Kazuki was about to agree when the boy was suddenly shoved out of the way and supplanted by Riza. Sighing, he began to turn to leave, waving lightly at the Osiris Red as he did. "See you tomorrow around one. I'm on the third floor."

"Hey, you can't just keep on ignoring me!" Riza shouted after him.

"Of course I can." Kazuki said as he began to walk away.

"How?" she found herself asking without meaning to. Clasping a hand over her mouth in embarrassment, she was surprised when Kazuki answered.

"Because I don't care what other people think of me." he explained.

"And why wont you duel me?" she followed up. To her surprise, Kazuki stopped in his tracks and hung his head.

"I..." he tried to say something, but stopped. "I really don't know."

"A duel?" a cold voice said above everyone else's. As one, all heads in the hallway turned to face Professor Katsu Yoriyoi, who was giving his usual stone cold glare at all present. "Mr. Katsura, if you wish to duel, then I suggest you do so at a time when you shouldn't be in class. Please, come with me." the teacher said, nodding towards his classroom, and Kazuki followed.

After they had made it about halfway down the hall that would take them to Katsu's lecture hall, the young professor turned around, took a moment to take in the traffic that was still holding still, and breathed in deeply. "Get to class!" he barked, and within seconds the hallway was nearly empty.

"You're pretty good at that." Kazuki commented as he walked next to the professor, who merely growled in response so that Kazuki would know that he had heard. "Um...Professor?" Again, a mild growl was all the response he got. "Why do we duel?"

"We duel, Mr. Katsura, because we choose to. Beyond that there are a number of personal decisions and reasons, but that is at the base of why we duel."

"And why would someone refuse to duel?" Kazuki pressed harder.

"I've already answered that." Katsu said, reaching for the handle to pull the door open. "However, I myself can't see why someone like you, young and talented, full of energy, would ever pass up a single duel."

XXXXXXXXX

Laying on his bed, Kazuki looked up at the Personal Organizer he held in his hand. It was decision time. He could accept Riza's challenge or not. He had to make the choice.

'_What's the worst that could happen?'_ he asked himself. _'I'm not trying to make a name for myself or anything, so what's there to lose? All that's there is gain, since it'll mean that she'll leave me alone.'_

Deciding that it made sense enough, he tapped the few keys needed before holding the device close to his face. "Riza, this is Kazuki. I've decided to accept your challenge. Meet me in the Osiris Red duel ring tomorrow at 6:00 PM."

Setting the device on his lamp stand, he reached for the soda he had left there. Lifting the drink to his lips he began to pour the sweet liquid into his mouth when his Organizer began to beep. Eyeing it while holding the can against his lips, he let the moment slip away in annoyance before picking it up and switching it on to play the incoming message.

"I couldn't understand what you said! You held it too close to your mouth when you spoke! And don't mumble!" it shouted at him, surprising him, causing his entire body to jolt and hitting his head on the alarm clock shelf above him.

"Ow." he muttered, rubbing his forehead. Grabbing the Organizer from where it had fallen to the floor. Picking it up he quickly sent a new copy of the message to Riza before returning to rubbing his now soar head.

XXXXXXXXX

"You ready?" Riza asked from her position opposite Kazuki. Nodding, he activated his duel disk and drew five cards, just as she did. Once she had her full hand, he drew again. (KLP:4000)(RLP:4000)

"I summon Ancient Magician (1700/1100) to the field in attack mode." he began, a man in light blue robes and holding a staff appearing on his field. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Nodding, Riza drew a card to start her turn. "I summon Blaze the Infernal Prince (1700/1000) to match your monster!" she started, slapping the card onto her duel disk. On her field appeared a man in samurai armor with a helmet capped with flames. Clenched tightly in his hands was a sword wreathed in flames. "Next I play Cube of Summoning."

Above her field appeared a massive rubix cube, the colors all scattered across its six surfaces. Once it had fully taken form, one of tiles on the bottom side fell to the ground and bounced around for a moment. Once it stopped Kazuki realized that it was actually a die, and it was showing five dots. On cue, the box above began to shift and twist to solve itself. Within just a few seconds the yellow side was already complete.

"In three turns I'll be able to special summon level four fire monsters from my deck to the field equal to the number I rolled minus one. That means I get to summon four, since I rolled a five." she explained, and Kazuki nodded. Taking another two cards from her hand, she set them into her magic zones, causing two holographic images to appear before her. "That ends my turn."

Drawing a card, Kazuki looked at the five available to him. Grabbing one, he placed it onto a monster zone and a man in gray robes appeared. "This is my Ancient Sage (1000/1200). And this," he said, pointing to his set card, which flipped up. "I Ancient Curse, which destroys one monster on your field." he declared. The magic card flashed for a second, and then Riza's monster dissolved into a pile of dust.

"Ancient Sage and Ancient Magician will both attack your life points directly! And Ancient Magician attacks twice each turn, meaning his attack will carry twice the power." he commanded as both monsters lifted their arms, palms out. Silently they let loose the streams of magical energy they had charged, striking Riza head on with an attack power of forty-four hundred points.

As the lights twisted and snaked around Riza, it suddenly began to accelerate in speed before seeming to actually flow _into_ her. (RLP:8400)

"What the...?" Kazuki gasped, shocked by the fact that she had just more than doubled her life points.

"My trap card, Damage Reflux, turns all life point damage I take this turn into gain." she explained as one of her set cards flipped up. "Also, on that note..." she trailed off as her other set card flipped up, this one a quick-play magic card. "Ring of Fire deals us both damage equal to the attack points of a monster on the field. So, I think I'll target your Ancient Magician (1700)." she grinned evilly as a circle of flames appeared around Kazuki's monster. Next a strip of flames grew out of that ring in either direction and then became another ring, one surrounding Kazuki and the other surrounding Riza. However, while Kazuki felt sweat rise to the surface of his skin and his breathing became ragged on the heated air, Riza seemed very comfortable as the fire seemed to be sucked into her. (RLP:10100)(KLP:2300)

"Also, the final effect of Ring of Fire is that the one who activates it is allowed to draw three cards after its effect resolves. Normally this is a harsh cost, but since I have Damage Reflux, it's a huge gain." she explained, pumping her hand back up to five cards.

"That could have gone better." Kazuki muttered after the flames died away. Taking another card from his hand, he shoved it into a magic zone and ended his turn.

"I think it went amazingly well." Riza said, drawing a card. "I set two cards face down, for starters." she began, slipping the cards into her duel disk, taking the places of the two she had used her previous turn. "Then I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

As she ended her turn, both players attention was brought to the clicking cube in the air above them, which had now solved three of its six sides. Only two turns remained before she would be able to summon her monsters.

"Draw." Kazuki began his turn. "Ancient Sage's effect now activates, creating an Ancient Token (100/100), whose attack and defense are equal to the number of cards in my graveyard times one hundred." As he spoke, a stone figure about half the height of the elder man appeared. "Now I switch Ancient Sage to defense mode and place Card Destruction." he declared and both players dropped three cards into their graveyards before drawing three cards each.

"Crappy hand, or you just trying to pump up your graveyard?" she asked as Kazuki glanced over his new cards.

"A bit of both." he answered, finally choosing a card. "I summon Ancient Saint (1500/1300) in attack mode." A man in white robes appeared on his field, a number of religious pendants and symbols hung around his neck and printed on his clothes. "This monster powers up all Ancient monsters by four hundred." he explained as the monk chanted for a moment, causing a faint aura to appear momentarily around his two monsters.

"Now, Ancient Saint (1900) attack her set monster!" Unclasping his hands, the man began to wave his fingers through the air in an elaborate design, each stroke leaving a line of light that quickly faded, but still revealing the rune he was tracing in the air. Once he was done writing the rune up he pressed both of his palms against it, causing it to flash brightly and then meshing together into a ball of light that streaked forward and incinerated the set card.

When nothing happened, Kazuki nodded to his other monster. "Ancient Magician (2200), double direct attack!" Lifting his staff into the air, the blue robed man began to chant, charging magical energy into the head of his weapon before firing it in a concentrated beam, to which Riza did not react. (RLP:5700)

"Turn end."

Drawing, Riza huffed her chest in disappointment. "You know, I had thought that someone like you would be more fun, and definitely more of a challenge."

"You may have more life points, Riza, but this duel is far from done." Kazuki shot back, growing annoyed with how leisurely she seemed to be taking the duel.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." she responded. "One monster in defense mode and then I'll end my turn."

Drawing his card, Kazuki waited patiently as another, and this time stronger, Ancient Token (400/400) appeared on his field, filling it up. "I play Token Harvest Festival to sacrifice both tokens to increase my life points by eight hundred each." he began his turn. Both stone figurines crumbled to rubble on the ground in front of him, each on leaving a small sphere of light that instantly shot into him, nearly completely restoring his life points. (KLP:3900)

"Ancient Saint, attack her monster!" he commanded. Again t he priestly figure wrote in the air and fired a blast of red energy at the horizontal card image, blasting it apart. On her field appeared a man with bright red hair, dressed in silver and red armor and wielding a burning sword.

"You've destroyed Soldier of the Flame Lord (1200/1400), who when flipped summons two more to my field." Riza called as the red-haired man disappeared and was replaced by two more just like him.

"Fine, Ancient Magician, attack the last two!" Kazuki shouted back. Holding his staff above his head, the blue robed mage chanted softly. From the head of his weapon floated two small spheres of light that struck her two monsters, dissolving them instantly. "Turn end."

Smirking, Riza drew and directed her eyes upward. Eyes widening, Kazuki looked up, realizing that it was the third turn since she had played Cube of Summoning. Sure enough, the puzzle was completely solved. Taking her deck from its holster she flipped through it until she found the four cards she wanted, which she then laid down on her field.

Three of the monsters were identical, and they were what worried Kazuki most. They had red skin, with orange flames sprouting out of their backs and skulls to act as wings and hair. Gripped in their hands was a short stick of the same fires, curved like a sword. The fourth monster was a woman with long blonde hair, streaked with bright red highlights. She was dressed in red priestess robes with white undergarments showing through at various points.

"My three Balrog's (1000/1000) and my Muse of Ashes (1400/1300)." she introduced. "And now, let the ass-kicking begin. You see, each Bolrog gains five hundred attack points for every fire monster on my field, and I currently have four, so each now gains two thousand attack points. Then Muse of Ashes increases each fire monsters attack by two hundred." she laughed as the three demonic monsters shot up to thirty-two hundred attack points and the woman topped off at a mere sixteen hundred.

"Now I'll activate Muse of Ashes second effect, sacrificing her to special summon a fire monster from my deck!" she called as the woman in red vanished and was replaced by a man with red hair and dressed in light weight azure robes and headdress, with a long staff in his hands which ended in a scythe-shaped appendage. "This is the non-ritual version of Legendary Flame Lord, known as Lord of the Flames (2400/1800)."

"Go face down card!" Kazuki shouted before she could make another move. "Enchanted Relic prevents you from targeting me or my field this turn."

Pouting, Riza looked her four cards over for a minute and then nodded, ending her turn. Drawing, Kazuki glanced his five cards over. "First my Ancient Sage will create another token (600/600). Then I play Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two."

Holding up the five cards, he quickly chose two of the three monsters and slipped them into his graveyard. Grabbing the magic card he still held in his hand, he turned his attention back to his duel disk. More specifically to the slot on the side that popped open, which he placed his field card into. Behind him appeared stone buildings of a very ancient and lost style.

"My Ancient Civilization increases the attack and defense points of all Ancient monsters by three hundred." Taking the trap card from his hand, he set it face down, and then took the final card and laid it on a monster zone. Seconds later a mane in black robes appeared, a wand in his hand. "I summon Ancient Illusionist (1600+300+400/1500+300), who gains another one hundred attack points for every card in my graveyard, and that's nine." With pride, Kazuki looked up at his new monster, who now had thirty-three hundred attack points.

"Well now, _that's_ pretty impressive." Riza complimented, truly amazed at how he had just potentially evened out the field a bit.

"It'll be more than impressive. Ancient Magician (2500/1400), attack Lord of the Flames!" he shouted. Again the young spellcaster lifted his staff and took aim, firing a beam of light at the slightly weaker fire mage.

"I activate my face down card known as Continuous Flame. During this turn, my fire monsters cannot be destroyed." Riza shouted back as the blast hit the mark, but her monster merely doubled over in pain, nothing more. (RLP:5600)

"Well, if I can't destroy him, I can at least deal as much damage as possible. Ancient Magician, attack Lord of the Flames again!" Again the mage fired a blast of light, this time knocking the blue-robed man onto his back. (RLP:5500)

"Ancient Illusionist (3200/1800), attack Lord of the Flames!" Twirling his wand, the black-robed spelluser formed a ribbon of magical light which he sent sailing at the target, who this time created a ball of flames all around himself to protect himself from the attack, though the damage was still there. (RLP:4700)

"My move!" Riza called, drawing a card. "I set one card face down before summoning my Fire Saint (1000/400)." A man in red robes appeared, looking a great deal like Kazuki's Ancient Saint. "Of course, the reason I summoned this monster was to increase the attack points of my three Balrog's by another five hundred points. Not only that, but I think I may have neglected to mention that while in the graveyard, Muse of Ashes increases the attack points of all my fire monsters by three hundred."

Taking an involuntary step back, Kazuki looked up at the three fire demons, each more terrifying than the next. Each with an attack of thirty-eight hundred wielded enough attack points to crush any of his monsters under foot.

"Now, before I forget, I need to use my Lord of the Flame's effect. Since you played two magic cards last turn, you granted him two magic counters. Now I'm going to sacrifice both of those counters to destroy your Ancient Saint!"

Lifting his stave into the air, the flame controller charged it with power. Slashing the staff through the air, he released an arc of flames which cut through Kazuki's monster, burning him away. Not only that, but it caused Kazuki's monsters attack points to drop by four hundred each.

"Now the stage is set. Fire Saint (1300), attack his Ancient Token!"

"Activate trap card!" Kazuki shouted as his last mystery card revealed itself. Up from the ground popped a number of high walls, cutting off Riza's monsters from Kazuki's. "Ancient Maze is a trap that keeps you from attacking for three turns."

"Turn end." Riza called. As Kazuki drew, the walls shrank slightly so that they were now only about knee-high to Kazuki and Riza.

"First I will once again get an Ancient Token (1000+300/1000+300). Next I play my Ancient Treasures to draw until I hold five cards, and then discard that same number of cards from my deck to my graveyard." he called, drawing five new cards and then placing five more into his graveyard, which also boosted his Ancient Sorcerer's attack.

"I set two cards face down. Then I play Magic of Revival to special summon a spellcaster from my graveyard to the field, in this case my Ancient Saint (1500+300+400/1300+300)." Even as the two brown-backed cards and white-robed magician appeared, Kazuki didn't seem to notice as he turned his attention to his newest Ancient Token.

"I now reveal the power of my Ancient Token, sacrificing it to reduce the attack points of a monster on your field equal to the sacrificed tokens attack." he explained as the stone figured shattered, revealing a glowing sphere of light, which launched itself at one of Riza's Balrog's, which beat aside the assaulting light with a sweep of its hand.

"Now I sacrifice my other Ancient Token and my Ancient Sage to summon my most powerful monster!" he continued as the gray-robed man and the last stone figurine vanished. In their place appeared a man in black and white robes. In his hands he held a golden staff with a large crescent at the head, the two points aimed straight at the sky, a ruby suspended between them. "My Ancient Mage (2700+300+400/2200+300)!"

"Nice monster." Riza commented as he appeared, and instantly realized Kazuki's plan.

"He's a lot more than that." Kazuki called. "First, since I have fewer monsters than you do at the start of my battle phase, Ancient Mage is allowed to attack all of your monsters this turn!"

"Activate trap card, Repelling Flame will switch all of my fire monsters to defense mode and then deal you their combined levels multiplied by two hundred as damage. That's forty-four hundred points!" Riza shouted as each of her monsters shifted to a crouch. Next an arrow of fire appeared above her monsters and launched straight at Kazuki, passing his monsters and striking him in the same instant that he slammed the final card in his hand into his duel disk.

"Emergency Provisions sacrifices my two set cards as well as my Ancient Maze to increase my life points by three thousand!" he shouted back as the two set cards and the maze shattered into bits of light which then surged into his body, nearly doubling his life points before the arrow struck him, nearly knocking him flat on his back. (KLP:2500)

"Now, Ancient Mage (3400/2500), attack her Fire Saint!" Leveling his scepter on the man in red, the mage let loose a crescent of white light which cut her in half. However, much to Kazuki's surprise another man in red appeared and threw a ball of fire which hit him in the shoulder.

"When Fire Saint is destroyed, another is summoned from my deck and you are dealt five hundred points of damage." Riza explained before Kazuki could ask. (KLP:2000)

"Ancient Mage, attack the last two!" he commanded. Twice his monster let loose a wave of energy, and twice he was hit with a ball of fire. (KLP:1000) However, Kazuki didn't seem at all concerned and pushed on without skipping a beat. "Ancient Mage, attack Lord of the Flame."

As the crescent moved in for the kill, a pillar of flames erupted around the blue robed man, fending off the attack. Again, Riza answered before Kazuki could ask.

"Flame Twister negates an attack at one of my fire monsters and allows me to place a fire monster from my deck into my hand." she said as she flipped through her deck. However, Kazuki wasn't going to let that break his stride.

"The Balrog I weakened with the token!" Another wave of light fired and cleaved the first of the demons in half, weakened by both use of Kazuki's token, as well as the loss of a fire monster. The other two were also destroyed in a similar fashion, leaving just the Lord of the Flame.

"When Ancient Mage destroys a monster he deals three hundred damage to another monster on my opponents field." he explained. "And so I directed the damage from the last two instances at your Lord of the Flames, weakening him by a six hundred. Now, Ancient Sage (2200/1600), attack and destroy her monster, and then Ancient Magician will finish it off."

"I don't think so!" Riza called, taking a card from her hand and slamming it into her graveyard. "The monster I searched out with Flame Twister was my Hell Raiser (1000/500) who I can discard to prevent one fire monster on my field from being destroyed this turn."

Clenching his hands into tight fists with frustration, Kazuki ended his turn. He had nearly won. Now he had to wait at least one turn. He didn't even notice as Riza drew her card, giving her a hand of four.

"I summon my Phoenix of the Eternal Flame (1700/1500) in attack mode." she called as a large bird, big enough to carry a person a short distance and wreathed in flames appeared. "Then I play Renewal of Triplets. Since I have three monsters of the same name in my graveyard, I can special summon them!" In a flash, all three Balrog's appeared, each at full power.

"Since I have five fire monsters on my field, my Balrog's each gain twenty-five hundred attack points, plus three hundred from my Muse of Ashes being in the graveyard. However, I'm going to sacrifice my Phoenix to destroy one card on your field rather than attack with it." she declared as her monster flapped its wings, rising until it circled high above the field. Quickly it gained speed, all the while it's body becoming fully engulfed in red flames. Pulling from the tight circle, it twisted so that it was diving straight towards the set of temples behind Kazuki!

Letting loose an ear-piercing screech, the phoenix crashed into the set of structures, setting off a small explosion which caused the buildings to collapse on themselves, raising a think cloud of dust all around Kazuki for a moment.

"Now I'll use my Phoenix's other ability, removing it from my graveyard from play to special summon a fire monster in my graveyard to the field in defense mode, and I choose Muse of Ashes (1400/1300). But I then instantly sacrifice my Muse in order to summon another fire monster, and this time it will be one of my most powerful creatures."

Taking a card from her deck she placed it onto her field, a fierce light in her eyes as she did. What appeared was a massive behemoth, at least twenty-five feet in length. It's body was covered in scales that seemed to be made of layer upon layer of dried lava. It had a long and pointed snout, its jaws lined with dozens of sword-like teeth. Finally, to finish its menacing appearance it wad two piercing gold eyes with slitted irises, two massive wings, claws, and a barbed tail.

"This is Isindath-Supreme Dragon (2900+300/2500)!" Taking a number of steps back, Kazuki didn't even notice as his jaw fell loose at the majesty of the goliath. Before he knew it he had backed up to the edge of the arena and was tripping backwards to the floor. "I activate Isindath's effect, discarding two fire monsters from my hand to destroy all monsters on your field!" she called, taking the last two cards from her hand and placing them into her graveyard. Craning its neck back the leviathan gathered blue flames from throughout its body into its mouth, which it then fired full-force at Kazuki's field, burning away all of his monsters.

"Isindath, attack directly!" she commanded. Again the beast craned back its neck, letting loose a jet of orange fire upon Kazuki's entire half of the field. He was rather fortunate that he had fallen out of the arena. (KLP:0)

'_I lost again.'_

Up in the stands, above the cheering crowd that had gathered to see, stood Professors Katsu, Kita, and Eizan, each with a very serious look in there eyes as they watched Kazuki drag himself out of the arena while Riza met with the crowd, beaming brightly at all the praise they gave her.

"Can you see it, Kita?" Eizan asked of the brown-haired woman. "There is no other way, that there is not." Nodding, she turned to face him and handed him a file folder. Accepting it with a bow, he turned to leave when she stopped him, grabbing him by the arm.

"Eizan, be careful. You're already gambling with your career, and now you're violating the boundaries of student and teacher."

"Perhaps he is." Katsu commented, turning to walk down the hall. "However, I'd say that right now, gambling is his best bet. If he doesn't, then he'll definitely lose."

"I appreciate the worry, Kita, that I do. However, I am a teacher first, and a working man second, that I am."

_To Be Continued..._

Ooooo...the plot thickens!

Powerful magician. Big, _big-assed_ dragon. Scary overall.

_While Kazuki deals with the shock of his loss to Riza Mairen, his first month at Duelist Academy comes to a close. Due to the surprising display of skill by many students at the school, as well as the efforts of some teachers, a special Duel Festival is being held. For some it is a chance to see some serious dueling, and for those involved it's a chance to possibly improve their rank. Up first is one of the highest ranked students in the second year. What's that, they're calling him the Kid Genius?_

_Next Time-Set Upon the Frozen Heavens!_

Original Cards-I would like to thank Seeker of the Soul and G.O.T.Nick for both posting chapters in their respective fics, both using fire decks, which both inspired me for Riza's deck, as well as just giving me some cards to use.

Kazuki-Every single card he used except for Emergency Provisions, Graceful Charity, and Card Destruction is mine.

Riza-Fire Saint, Lord of the Flames, Phoenix of the Eternal Flame, Muse of Ashes, Ring of Fire, and Hell Raiser are all mine. Damage Reflux, Fire Twister and Solder of the Flame Lord, Renewal of Triplets and Magic of Revival all belong to Seeker. Repelling Fire, Continuous Flame and Blaze the Infernal Prince all belong to Nick. Isindath-Supreme Dragon was created by Nick, but I then went and made him better.

If there's a card I did not mention but that you don't recognize, then I either used the Japanese name for it, or I forgot to add it to the list. Let me know if I missed anything. See ya.


	5. Set Upon the Frozen Heavens

Yay, the chapter is here at last. This would have been up more than a week ago, but I got sick, then I started my new job, and a few other things happened. However, it's here, and it's good stuff. Enjoy!

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Five-Set Upon the Frozen Heavens**

There was a certain level of excitement amongst the teachers, who had gathered together in one of the various conference rooms set up throughout the school. They had all been called together for an important meeting rather suddenly. So suddenly, in fact, that classes for the remainder of the day had been cancelled for the sake of this meeting. And in the minds of the teachers, if it could force classes out of the schedule for the day, then it obviously was worth going to.

Now they found themselves looking up at the massive video screen ahead of them, upon which was the image of a man nearing middle age. However, despite his obvious age he had a very youthful air about him, so overwhelming that it even found its way into his voice.

"It's rather short notice." Principal Tsuji commented, furrowing his brow. "I mean, we would need to go through and run a systems check on all the arenas, plus the school budget is being currently directed at expanding the dorms for next year when we plan on increasing the school population."

"Nonsense!" the man on the other end of the phone line declared. "There's nothing you can't do with a pocket knife and some duct tape!" The teachers, save Tsuji and Katsu, all giggled at the joke. Turning back to the man on the screen, who continued, his grin still on his face. "But seriously, have no fear. I'll have my technicians there by nightfall. They'll have your arenas up and running before you can say Blue Eyes White Dragon. As for cost, I'll handle that as well. Why, I could even send over a decorator if you'd like. Put up some new wallpaper, maybe some chandeliers..."

"I think it would be a wonderful idea." Kita spoke up, drawing attention to herself. "The students have just started to adapt to school life away from home. No doubt they're feeling overwhelmed, and this would be a way to lighten their spirits."

"Exactly!" the business man beamed. "I like her." At this, Kita began to blush a deep crimson.

"No need to flatter me such, Mr. Pegasus." she squeaked.

"Oh, but I must." the president of Industrial Illusions pressed. "Because my hero, Funny Bunny, never missed a chance to compliment a woman when she deserved it. As such, as his devoted follower, I must do the same!"

"I think we're getting off track." Katsu pointed out, his voice level and collected.

"Oh, you're no fun." Pegasus pouted, his eyes pointed at the head of Ra Yellow, who simply turned his head away. "Anyway, all that aside, I'll see you this weekend. Tootles!" he waved, and with that, the transmission ended.

Sighing, Principal Tsuji turned back to his staff and spread his arms out on either side. "Well, you heard the man. We have five days to get this place presentable."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Less than two hours later, word had spread throughout the school that Industrial Illusions would be hosting the first Duelist Academy Duel Festival that very week. It set an instant tone of excitement for the students, who wanted to show the world what they were made of. Even more importantly, to some at least, it would be a chance for them to have official duels to improve their rank.

The very air about the school had been filled with a new level of energy. Students suddenly found themselves compelled to make changes to their decks that they never altered before. Some began to pour through their textbooks or hound their teachers for advice. And others began to work feverishly to complete assignments for certain classes...

"Class, I've got a new assignment for you." Kita Saira spoke to the first years in the lecture hall. "You've all begun to grasp the concept of how to make your own cards, but here in Card Development 210 you need to be able to make full sets of cards."

Sitting up, Kazuki tried his best to log everything she said away in his memory. He looked around and noticed that many other students who had never shown any interest in class were now listening very intently. He suspected that they planned on coming up with their own cards and planned on trying to impress Pegasus himself when he came on Friday.

Turning back to the lecture, Kazuki felt his body relax to a degree. Of all his classes, this one was perhaps his favorite. He enjoyed creating cards of his own, even if he wouldn't be able to ever use them in a duel. His only regret was that he was sure that, if he could use a deck of his own creation that he would be much stronger.

'_Strong enough...to beat Riza, even.'_ he mentally declared, his insides shaking with both shame and fury. Even though he had been devastated by her Isindath-Supreme Dragon nearly two weeks ago, he could still feel his spirits hanging heavy as a result.

"Now, many of you should recall that at the beginning of the semester you each submitted to me an idea for an original card set of your creation, including an essay explaining the strategies of the deck you would make around that card set, as well as an example of one magic, one trap, and one monster card from the deck. For you first major project, I want you to use the ideas you presented in that assignment and make full decks for them. They will be due next Friday. That gives you ten days." she explained. Then, turning to the board she began to write numbers down in a list format. Once she had one through six up, she turned her attention back to the students.

"Someone give me a basic deck type and strategy." At first only one or two hands reached into the air, but soon others gained confidence and also lifted their arms.

Pointing, Kita called on a young man towards the middle of the room. Lowering his hand, he called out "Warriors are effective swarmers." he stuttered. Nodding, Kita wrote what he had said down next to the number "1". Turning back, she called on another student, this time a girl with bright red hair.

"Wind-themed cards are generally associated with magic and trap destruction of one form or another."

This pattern carried on for a nearly forty minutes, the students listing decks and strategies, the occasional discussion being raised. Reminding the students once more about the project, Kita dismissed the class.

Gathering his books into his hands, Kazuki rose to his feet and turned into the isle to leave the room. Once again he was the last to exit, but it didn't matter to him. That's how it had always been, and he saw little difference to change it. Slipping into the sea of students, he practically ground to a halt, waiting to be carried with the tide.

Looking around, trying to see above the heads of varying heights and hair colors he searched for some hidden path to lead him swiftly out from the major flow of traffic. As he did, he noticed that there was a section of the crowd up ahead that actually seemed to be parting for some reason. As it drew closer, he also noticed that people around him were growing quieter and the subjects of their conversations shifted as they began to speak in hushed whispers.

As he tried to get a better view to see whatever it was that was causing the schism in the crowd, he failed to notice how close the cause had come to him, and so failed to react when the people all around him moved aside. As people scuffled all around his bobbing form, it wasn't long before his feet were tightly surrounded on all sides. Seconds later someone's knee bent forward, tapping his strained knee calf, and that was all that was needed to send Kazuki crashing to the ground with a yelp, his books clapping against the tile floor with a loud snap before sliding several feet forward, nearly finding themselves under a foot.

Seconds later, a dazed Kazuki was lifting his head off of the ground, rubbing a red spot on his face just above his eyes. Wincing in pain, he picked himself up to one knee, failing to notice that everyone's attention had shifted to him as he began to gather the items that had fallen closest to him.

"Here you go." a sweet, feminine voice spoke as the folder that had skidded farthest from him was pushed into his vision.

"Thanks." he gruffly muttered as he grabbed it from the good Samaritan's hands, keeping his eyes downcast as he straightened his items and rose to his feet. "Any idea what everyone was trying to avo-?" he asked, finally lifting his eyes, his words getting lost as he did. Standing directly in front of him was a young woman who had to be at least two years older than him, dressed in an Obelisk Blue uniform, though her's seemed a bit looser than the one Riza had worn, along with a longer skirt. Her hair was dark brunette hair and she had soft grey eyes.

Kazuki simply continued to stare.

Giggling, the girl turned back to her friends and they continued on their way, the students parting out of the way for them, some even bowing to her.

Blinking, Kazuki shook his head to snap himself from his trance as the pack of girls disappeared around a corner. Reaching out to the nearest person, he pulled them close and in a hushed voice demanded something simple: "Who was that?"

"You kidding?" the second year Obelisk Blue boy asked, raising an eyebrow, causing the blue bandana wrapped around his head to shift. After a few moments of Kazuki's eyes remaining fixed on the corner where the girl had vanished, the upper class man decided to state the obvious. "You're not kidding." Kazuki merely shook his head slowly. Sighing, the boy answered, "That was Rangiku Mitsuhoshi. She's the number one duelist here."

At this, Kazuki jerked his head around in surprise, gawking at the boy with the bandana. She was the top ranked duelist at the Academy! His look of shock was met shortly thereafter by a light slap up the back of his head.

"Grow up, kid. She's way out of anyone's league. Besides, it isn't proper to gawk at a girl like that." the blue student reprimanded before walking off, his posture slightly rigid.

Rubbing his head, Kazuki glanced down at his watch and yelped. It was Wednesday, so his Deck Construction class was held in the afternoon, and now he was going to be late!

Taking off in a dash, he tried his best to avoid running people over, taking care to swiftly apologize to those he did run into.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Walking briskly, Eizan worked his way through the halls of Duelist Academy, taking his practiced route. Of course, he quickly realized that he would have to alter said route, due to the fact that he was later than usual. Normally he was walking these halls ten minutes earlier, before the students got out of classes. As a result, he found himself getting tossed and turned by the tide of human bodies.

"Excuse, if you would." he called as he waded from student to student. After getting bumped for what seemed like the millionth time, he found himself stumbling backwards into a wooden door, which began to swing open under the pressure of his weight. Reaching out with his left arm, he managed to catch the handle, using it as an anchor to keep himself from crashing against a wall that had been erected just a few feet beyond the threshold of the door.

Brushing himself off, he turned around, trying to determine where he was. Quickly he discovered that the wall he had nearly crashed into was covered in tile. Seconds later he was startled when he heard what sounded like giggling, and then running water.

Eyes nearly bursting from their sockets, he glanced again at the tile-coated wall, his face flushing rapidly between stark white and burning crimson. "Pink tile? Water? Giggling?" Even as he was starting the action to flee, he saw two shadows coming around the wall. Long before he could grab the handle, the bodies that cast the shadows had come around, followed by a low gasp.

Flushing even more extreme variations of the two previous skin tones, Eizan nervously waved, his breath nearly stopped altogether. Bowing slightly while still trying to find the door handle, he uttered, "My deepest apologies, ladies. I did not mean to intrude into your bathr-" but before he could finish his apology, Professors Miya Masuko and Kita Saira had both shrieked loud enough that Professor Katsu Yoriyoi on the other end of the compound was forced to check his glasses for potential cracks.

"Pervert! Peeping Tom!"

"Ladies, please forgive me!" Eizan called over his shoulder as he dashed through the hallway, seemingly ignoring the students as he worked his way through them.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Class, today we will be examining a Bounce deck." Eizan declared from his podium. Looking out into the crowd, he frowned when he realized that many of the students were either snickering or giggling. Of course he knew why they were, and his face hung because of it. Rubbing his eye, he decided it would be better to quickly explain and get it over with. "I had a bit of an incident, that I did." he explained, sighing in embarrassment as he traced his new black eye before proceeding with his lesson.

A half hour later he clicked the projector off and turned back to the students. "I'd like to take the remainder of the class time to talk with you about this weekends Duel Festival, that I would. This will be a chance for anyone who wishes to enter into a match against any opponent within their division. These duels will be for all to see, and if you want you may request that a teacher oversee the match if you want to try and improve your rank. There will also be a special exhibition match at the end of the day, that there will be."

"Now, this is an important even for the school, that it most certainly is. Industrial Illusions is sending a number of representatives to oversee this event, since they're sponsoring it. Among those coming will be Maximilian Pegasus himself." As he explained this, Eizan left a minute for the expected gasps of shock and excitement to escape. "As this is the case, please be considerate, and remember that should you choose to duel, you are representing both yourself, as well as myself and the other teachers, that you are. Please, give it your all. Class dismissed."

As one the students began to rise from their seats, the rumbling of books and scuffling feet thundering throughout the room. As they began to file out, Eizan's voice was heard calling, "Kazuki, could you please come here?"

Startled by the sudden request, Kazuki turned one hundred and eighty degrees and approached the stage, where Professor Eizan was waiting with his arms crossed over his chest.

"So, how do you like Professor Yoriyoi's class?" the silver-haired teacher asked, smiling. Taken aback by the seemingly random question, Kazuki had to remind himself that it was this professor who had gotten him into said class in the first place.

"It's fine." he mumbled.

"That's good to hear, that it is." Eizan continued to smile, and then his face became slightly more serious, though he did maintain his bright spirit. "However, that is not the reason I asked you to stay behind. I want to make you an offer, that I would."

"Offer?" Kazuki raised an eyebrow, confused. Hadn't he already received an offer from this teacher when he got involved into Katsu's class? And wasn't it now far too late to enter into any other classes?

"Yes, you see, I've been finding myself slightly overwhelmed with all of my work-I teach the most classes out of any of the faculty, that I do. I have plenty of time for grading papers, true, but there's a great deal of work outside of that, and that is why I would like to speak with you. I want to offer you a job, that I do."

Surprised, Kazuki stared dumbly at the professor. A job? What could he do to make life easier for his teacher?

"I would like to hire you as an assistant who could file things for me, run small errands related to my work, things like that, that I would." Eizan continued to explain, not seeming to notice Kazuki's look of shock.

Still shocked, Kazuki said the only thing he could think of: "I don't know what to say."

"You could accept, that you could." came the response.

"But why me? I'm just a freshman, and I don't have any kind of work experience. Besides," Kazuki mumbled, turning away, trying to find the words he wanted. "I'm not that strong, as either a duelist or a person. I keep on losing duels and..." he let his voice trail off, creating an uneasy silence for a few minutes.

"Kazuki, you don't give yourself enough credit, that you most certainly do not." Eizan reassured, resting an arm on Kazuki's tense shoulder. "First off, just because you lose a duel doesn't make you weak. All it proves is that there are strong opponents out there willing to face you. Not only that, but it shows that you are human, that it does. Secondly, you may be a freshman, but you're also the top student in my class, that you are. Although you scored fifth on my first test, you have scored first on the two we have had since then. You realized your mistakes in the first test and quickly adapted your own learning and response systems in order to improve almost instantaneously. On top of that, you are handling a full schedule, along with an upper level course with one of the strictest teachers this academy has ever had, that you have. I think you are more ideal for this position than any other student I've ever had, that I do."

Smiling weakly, Kazuki took in these words and tried to sort them out. Tapping the now loosened shoulder, Eizan sighed and smiled again. "I'll need you to start work the Monday after the Festival. If you want to back out, please let me know before the weekend gets here."

XXXXXXXXXXX

The level of excitement one could feel in the main stadium of the school was beyond anything anyone there had ever felt before. Rumors concerning who would duel and who would face who had been given plenty of time to fester over the past few days. Bets, regardless of the school rules against it, had been laid, involving everything from rare cards to money to comic books.

Students who had signed up for duels filled the bottom ring of benches, no more than thirty feet away from the arena itself. Some sat calm, meditating in preparation. Others shuffled through their decks, either considering last minute changes or just to try and fight off the anxiety. A few, however, were beyond the comfort that their cards could give them, and were visibly trembling in fear.

Video cameras were being wired all around the room in order to catch every second of the duels. Word was that the event was being broadcast world-wide. Then again, another rumor had been spread that Pegasus had declared that he wanted to the whole event on DVD.

Shrugging, Kazuki remained in his current position in the crowd, hunched forward and his head looking down, resting on his hands, deep in thought. Since there were still a few minutes before the duels began he had decided to do some thinking to pass the time.

He would be shaken from his pondering, though, when a loud blast of up-beat music filled the school stadium, catching everyone unawares. Of course, after a few seconds everyone present was smiling and laughing once again and shifting around in their seats, waving arms in an attempt to dance from their fixed positions. Even some of the younger teachers (Miya Masuto in particular), whether they were scattered throughout the bleachers or in one of the observation boxes set up around the room, were joining in, hopping to their seats and spinning around in circles. Others, on the other hand (such as Katsu Yoriyoi) growled and rolled their eyes.

Less than five minutes later, the song had come to a close, signaling everyone within the stadium to quiet down for the start of the event. Waiting anxiously for the first duel to be declared, the tension quickly mounted to a nearly tangible state...

...and was then quickly shattered by the childish and bemused voice that chuckled over the loud speakers.

"Boys and girls, children of all ages, teachers and faculty, and those of you who remain a mystery," as one, thousands of heads turned to the executive box, which was set up directly across the stadium from where Kazuki was sitting. Standing in a red suit, his platinum hair neatly combed straight down, was one of the wealthiest and well-known men in the world, who also happened to the owner of the youthful voice. "I, Maximilian Pegasus, welcome you to this little event I am hosting here on your island."

"Actually, it's _my_ island." another voice growled, though no one was exactly sure who had spoken. No one else was in the booth with Pegasus, save his two assistants well behind him. Again heads shifted, this time acing Kazuki's direction, only looking upwards of him.

Craning his neck to see, Kazuki saw that a massive video screen built into the wall had switched on, revealing a man who had to be at least fifteen years Pegasus junior. He had brown hair, deep sapphire eyes, and a stern, all-business face.

"Ooo, Kaiba-boy's hit the scene." Pegasus chuckled, causing many to turn back to him, only to have to flip back to Kaiba seconds later as the younger of the two spoke.

"I authorized you to hold this event, not to steal the spotlight from the students. So let's get on with the duels."

"Oh Kaiba-boy, you cut me deep with your harsh demeanor. I only want to lighten the mood. This is supposed to be a day for the kids to kick back, relax, and enjoy the life you never got a chance at." Kaiba was entirely unfazed. Obviously not surprised, Pegasus turned back to the students. "Well, at least I took the time and energy to come here in person."

"I'll be there shortly." Kaiba cut in, this time succeeding in surprising the older man, who's eye twisted up to the screen while the rest of his remained fixed in a stance directed at the students. "I'm currently on my way. I just didn't want you wasting the air time that we're paying for." Kaiba reaffirmed. "Oh, and Pegasus, don't corrupt them."

"Well, maybe a duel will soften your stony heart and melt your icy words." the president of I2 grinned ferally. "And speaking of ice, the first match is quite fitting." At these words a young man from the competitor's circle rose to his feet. He was about Kazuki's height, though he appeared to be a year or two older. He was dressed in an Obelisk Blue uniform, mostly white, proving that he wasn't a first year. His hair was light grey, his bangs spiked downward while a short braid reached down to the base of his neck, and his face serious, though not nearly as intense as Kaiba's.

"Ah, so he figured it out all on his own, just from that." Pegasus smiled, though he seemed to be talking more so to himself. This only lasted a few seconds before he raised his voice again and extended his arm towards the boy, palm open and facing upward. "This is Yue Ryusen."

To Kazuki's surprise, the simple declaration of the young man's name seemed to be enough to excite everyone in the room, resulting in a flurry of excited whispers. Looking around in confusion, Kazuki tapped the shoulder of a young girl with ebony hair in front of him and asked, "Why's everyone so excited?"

The girl stared in shock at him for several seconds before answering. "You're a first year, aren't you?" He nodded. "Yue is the top ranked student in the second year, and he's in the top five for the school as a whole." Eyes widening in surprise, Kazuki turned back to the arena, where the grey-haired boy was shuffling his deck. However, the girl in front of him wasn't finished. "The reason he's so strong is because he's a genius. He actually made every card in his deck. It started as an assignment for a class, but the cards he had made were so impressive that a copy was sent to Pegasus, who made the actual cards. However, he's currently bared from mass producing the cards until Yue graduates, at which time he's been guaranteed a position at I2."

"Amazing." Kazuki breathed while returning his gaze to the arena as Pegasus was announcing the opposing player.

"Now, to face Yue, we have the lovely Rei Iwamoto!" Rising from her seat, a girl with extremely dark blue hair in a Ra Yellow uniform entered the arena, duel disk in place. For a few minutes the two just watched each other, one with an icy stare and the other with a friendly, yet timid smile. However, silence was not something Pegasus could stand.

"Alrighty kids, play nice, and give these people a show worth what they paid, which really wasn't anything. But hey, there's no such thing as a free fortune cookie, right?"

"Um..." the Ra Yellow girl said, pressing her index finger against her lip in though, not quite sure what Pegasus had meant. Shaking his head in what had to be annoyance, Yue reached for his deck. (YLP:4000)(RLP:4000)

"Draw!" he called, pulling six cards all at once. "I set one card face down." he began, the image of a brown card forming at his feet. "Now I sacrifice that face down card to special summon my Ice Lancer (1700/1200) from my deck in attack mode." The horizontal card instantly became covered in several inches of ice and shattered, frozen crystals clattering to the ground, filling the stadium with a sweet chime. To everyone's awe, the crystals then began to gravitate back together, only a few feet farther from Yue than the set card hap been. After a few minutes the tinkling sound faded away as the ice shards ceases to move, having settled into the shape of a man with pale skin in white crystalline armor, clutching a spear made of that same ice in his hands.

"The card that I sacrificed was Repayment of Losses, so I draw one card." Yue continued, returning his hand to six cards. Picking another of his first hand cards, he slapped it down onto another monster zone and a man in blue crystalline armor appeared, this one wielding a double-bladed sword, each end being wide, curved, and single-edged. "This is my Ice Blader (1400/1100), who powers up all Ice monsters on the field by five hundred. Also, he raises his own attack points by one hundred further for every Ice monster in play." he explained as both of his monsters attack points rose dramatically, the first ending at twenty-two hundred and the latter at twenty-one hundred.

"Ice monsters?" Kazuki asked allowed, rubbing his chin in confusion. "I've never heard of that type of monster."

"I told you that he made every card in his deck himself, except for a few extra cards like Repayment of Losses." the girl in front of him snapped, twirling around. "However, unlike most types of extra card families, like Gravekeepers, who rely on having a particular word in their name, these monsters are Ice types in addition to being warriors, spellcasters, dragons, etc."

"Clever." Kazuki muttered, glancing back at the field as Yue ended his turn by setting a card face down.

"My turn." Rei called, drawing. "I summon Ivory Soldier (1700/1000) in attack mode!" A man in pale white armor appeared, a sword in his hand made of the same pale material as his armor. "When summoned, Ivory Soldier destroys one of your cards, so I'll destroy Ice Blader (2100)!" Taking a bone handled dagger from his waist, the warrior threw it full force at the two-ended weapon wielding warrior.

Hundreds of eyes glanced at Yue's set card, expecting some sort of counter maneuver to activate. When the card remained in place, many frowned, watching at his monster was destroyed by the flying projectile. Yue, however, remained completely unaffected by this, even as his other monsters attack points dropped back to seventeen hundred, even with Rei's monster.

"I set one card face down and end my turn." she finished timidly as she placed the card face down, leaving her with four cards in hand.

"My move!" Yue called, the act of his draw slashing through the air. Adding the card to his hand, he chose the card he had drawn the previous turn when he sacrificed Repayment of Losses. "I play Snow Drift. I declare either magic, trap, or monster. You must then set all cards of that type in your hand onto the field. Those cards may not be activated until my next turn. I call magic."

Frowning with confusion, Rei took three of her four cards and set them face down on her field, filling all but one of her magic zones. Smirking, Yue extended his arm over he set card, activating it.

"This trap is Snow Sickle Strike. It destroys all face down cards on your field and deals your one hundred points of damage for each card destroyed." he explained as dozens of large shafts of ice fell from above Rei's field, spearing into her cards.

'_Brilliant!'_ Kazuki said to himself, realizing the deviousness of this combo. _'After she took her turn he knew that she had probably set her traps, so he then forced her to set her magic cards so that way he can get rid of all those threats at once!'_

"Activate trap card, Waboku!" Rei called, surprising everyone. "By activating this, you can't deal me battle damage this turn, and I remove one card form the field before your trap card resolves, sparing myself some damage." (RLP:3700)

Setting two cards face down, Yue ended his turn, meaning he now had just two cards in his hand.

Drawing a card, Rei began her turn, giving her the same number of cards in hand as Yue. However, he held the advantage, because he had his two set cards, and she had nothing. "I summon another Ivory Soldier (1700/1000) in attack mode, meaning I get to destroy your Ice Lancer!" she declared as another monster, identical to the one already on her field, appeared. Slashing at the air with his sword, the new warrior released a wave of energy that cut through the air towards Yue's monster.

Kazuki waited anxiously to see how the Obelisk Blue would counter this. At the same time, he noticed that the girls in front of him were bunching up excitedly, seemingly horrified that his monster could be destroyed.

"Freeze!" Yue shouted, and much to everyone's shock, the crescent of energy did just that, stopping in place just feet away from cutting his monster in half. All eyes were now on the Obelisk Blue, who was pointing at the card to his right, which had flipped up. From said card flowed ribbons of frost, which wrapped around the attack, encasing it in ice before shattering into thousands of pieces.

"What was that?" Rei asked, eyeing the trap card wearily.

"My trap card, Freeze, allows me to either negate an attack or card effect so long as I have an ice monster in play. Also, since I played it during your turn, the current phase ends, meaning you may either enter the battle phase, or go on to main phase two."

Leaning forward in interest, Kazuki watched as the deck created by the young man unraveled itself. At the same time, he noticed the girls in front of him relax with relief.

"Fine, I still have twice the number of monsters you do!" Rei shouted, extending her arm towards Yue. "Ivory Soldier number one, attack his Ice Lancer!" With a nervous nod, the man in bone-white armor charged in, sword held high. In response, the man in crystal armor lifted his spear, meeting his foe head-on. They thrust at each other simultaneously, both hitting the mark, causing both fighters to shatter.

"Ivory Soldier, attack Yue's life points directly!"

This time Yue did not allow suspense to build, much to the delight of the two Ra Yellow's in front of Kazuki. "Reveal Ice Break! This quick-play card will destroy one card on your field and deal you damage equal to its level times two hundred!" Underneath the feet of the warrior appeared a slab of ice, which promptly split in half and he fell into the crevasse. At the same time, Rei's life point counter began to trickle down sharply, hit pretty hard by Yue's card's effect. (RLP:2900)

"Turn end." she muttered as she placed her last card into her duel disk.

"You shouldn't play face down cards against me." Yue commented as he glanced at his new card, which he then slapped onto his duel disk. What appeared was another man in armor made entirely of ice, only instead of a triangle-tipped spear, this one held two thin swords. "Go, Snow Soldier (1400/1200) in attack mode. And when summoned, he destroys one face down card on your field."

Crossing his blades to make an x-shape, he slashed down, releasing a similarly shaped blast of light which converted into icicles aimed at Rei's single set card.

"You may be good at blowing away face down cards, but you no doubt also know that they can be chained to your attacks and effects, like this card;" she countered as she activated her card. "Go Dark Wall of Air, protecting me from your attacks for the turn." As she spoke, the card flipped up and a sphere of black wind enveloped her, acting as an effective shield from any attacks Yue may send her way.

Sighing in defeat, Yue passed his turn, and Rei instantly drew her card. However, she stopped as Yue spoke, "Rei, why did you challenge me to this duel?"

Caught off guard, Rei failed to hide her shock and turned her head to the side, trying to keep Yue from seeing her blush. "Well, I...um..."

"I see." Yue concluded, though he did not say anything else for a few minutes. "Very well, come at me with your all. Take those feelings and translate them into your moves. Have your cards carry your feelings!"

Startled by this, Rei, and most of the students in the bleachers -though most were female- looked either at Yue as if he were mad, or with immense spite as they eyed Rei. In the case of the two young women in front of Kazuki, it was the latter.

"That hussie!" they shrieked together, though they were drowned out by the murmurs of confusion and the cheers of others all around them. Kazuki felt his face fall slightly.

Up in one of the larger teachers booths, Eizan chuckled slightly at these words, a bright smile on his face. Next to him, even Katsu's lips were struggling against his will-power in an attempt to grin.

"Well now," Pegasus found himself muttering in a barely audible voice. "That boy has spirit. It seems I was right when I made him those cards."

"My move, Yue!" Rei called as she placed the drawn card into her duel disk. "I play Reinforcement to the Army to search my deck for a level four or lower warrior and add it to my hand." she began, taking her deck from its holster, fanning it out, grabbing the card she wanted, and then returning the stack of cards to its proper place. "Next I summon that monster, White Horned Kaiser (1400/700) in attack mode!"

A man in armor made of the bones of some large creature appeared, the ivory glistening in the arena light. Underneath the armor was a scarlet body suite, while a sapphire cape hung from his shoulders. In his hand he held a long sword, while two shorter swords hung at his waist on either side.

"When summoned, White Horned Kaiser allows me to special summon the keystone of my deck from wherever it may be, except from out of play." She paused for a moment here as her deck scanned itself before ejecting the card she wanted, which she gratefully accepted. "So, from my deck I summon White Horned Dragon (2200/1400) in attack mode!"

The monster that appeared was a large dragon, at least five times the size of Rei. It's scales were a shimmering dark blue, while two massive ivory horns lanced forward from its skull.

Even Yue seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of such a monster, which leered menacingly at his nearly empty field.

"I'm just getting started." Rei called, returning everyone's focus to her. "When summoned, White Horned Dragon removes up to five magic cards in your graveyard from play, but you've only got three. That'll have to do." she explained as the cards popped out of Yue's graveyard and into his hand, from which his promptly pocketed the cards. "My dragon then gets three hundred attack points for every card removed, so now he get's nine hundred more attack points."

As one, the audience gasped as her leviathan's attack points rose, coming to rest at thirty-one hundred. Meanwhile Yue only had a monster with fourteen hundred attack points, and no set cards to back him up.

"And it doesn't end there." Rei called, her dragon stooping low against the ground as the red-robed soldier approached it, shocking the audience when he hopped onto the back of the beasts neck. "White Horned Kaiser can union himself to my White Horned Dragon, boosting its attack by a further three hundred."

"That's very impressive." Yue commented sincerely. "Please, make your attack. I assume that since you have no cards in your hand, and since I have no cards set to stop you, that you will be attacking, yes?"

"Of course, silly." Rei countered, pointing at Yue's lone monster. "White Horned Dragon (3400/1400), attack Snow Soldier!" Rearing back its head, the dragon let loose a blast of shimmering light, which combined with a similar blast from the sword of the dragon's rider, smashing into the ice monster, disintegrating him, and dealing immense damage to Yue's life points, effectively cutting them in half. (YLP:2000)

"You've activated Snow Soldier's abilities!" Yue shouted as the few fragments of holographic ice left by his monster began to glisten with light. "When destroyed, Snow Soldier will normally destroy one face down card on your field, but you don't have any. However, he also summons another Snow Soldier (1400/1200) at the same time." As he finished explaining as another soldier in ice armor, wielding tow swords appeared. "However, once again you don't have any set cards, so his summoning effect is pointless."

"He may be pointless," Rei said, eyeing her dragon. "However, my White Horned Kaiser has another ability. When combined with White Horned Dragon, if they destroy a monster or deal life point damage, I can either destroy a card on your field or two cards from your hand. I'll take out those two cards from your hand, if you don't mind."

Nodding, Yue inserted the cards into his graveyard. When Rei could make no other move, he drew a card, giving him a single card to use. Glancing at the card, his eye widened slightly in surprise. Setting the card down in a magic zone, he ended his turn, a small grin on his face.

"Draw!" Rei called, whipping the card off of her deck. Keeping it in her hand, she turned to the field. "White Horned Dragon, attack his defending Snow Soldier!" she ordered, and in response her joint monsters fired their attack, blasting away Yue's monster, only to have it replaced by the third and final Snow Soldier. "And don't think I didn't notice the way you glanced at that card! I use my monster's special ability to destroy your set card!" Without another word, the set card shattered into thousands of pixels of light.

'_That's what he wanted.'_ Kazuki said to himself, realizing Yue's plan already.

"Wrong choice, Rei." Yue said as he held up the card she had just destroyed. "You just sent another Repayment of Losses to the graveyard, allowing me to draw a card. Had to destroyed my Snow Soldier, you would have eliminated my last defense."

Surprised by these words, Rei let her mouth sag for a moment, blushing slightly. Shaking her head to free herself, she declared "I end my turn."

Drawing two cards, Yue began his turn. "It ends here." he declared, looking up from his two-card hand. This drew a number of confused frowns from the audience, as well as a number of excited chirps from a number of young women. From in front of himself, Kazuki heard a pair of audible sighs, followed by the dazed words "I think I'm in love. Yue, you're so cool!"

"First," the card creating prodigy began, taking the card he had drawn from Repayment of Losses. "I play my field magic card, Frozen Heavens!" The side slot of his duel disk extended outward, allowing him to slip his magic card into it. The entire arena was then covered in ice and snow, a number of colors reflecting from the smooth surface. "This field card boosts the attack points of all ice monsters by five hundred, so Snow Soldier now has nineteen hundred attack points."

"That's not even close to what you would need to beat my monster. So what are you going to do with that card in your hand?" Rei pointed out.

"Simple, I'm going to play Twilight Renewal to draw five new cards." he explained as he pulled the new hand of cards free, fanning them out. "Now I summon Snow Spearman (1900+500/1000) in attack mode!" A man in light, powder-white armor appeared, a long javelin in his fists. "Next I play the magic card, Veil of Snow to special summon an Ice monster from my hand!" he called. "So I'll bring out _my_ strongest monster."

Taking a card from his hand, he slapped it onto a monster zone between his two other monsters. From the iced-over ground emerged a massive serpentine dragon made entirely of flowing ice and water. It's eyes were deep ruby voids, the only noticeable attributes that stuck out from it's otherwise blue and white body, which was coiled tightly so that it fit in the arena.

"Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru (3000+500/3000)!"

'_Amazing monster, but what does it do?'_ Kazuki asked from his seat, leaning forward as far as he could. In fact, he was leaning so far forward that the girl in front of him whipped her head around, a scowl on his face.

"Hey, back off. I'm trying to watch my Yue-kun finish that tramp off, and I can't enjoy it with your breath on my neck!"

Taken aback, Kazuki pulled his body back, returning his attention to the duel, as Yue was beginning to explain his card's effects, the audience just getting over the shock of the cards appearance.

"Hyourinmaru has a number of effects, and the first one that's going to activate is that he get's one hundred attack points for every ice monster in my graveyard. I have four right now, so he gains four hundred attack points." As he spoke, his monsters attack meter rose to an amazing thirty-nine hundred.

"Now I activate the magic card, Frost Formation, sacrificing my Snow Spearman to do so. This will add the sacrificed monsters attack points and effect to another ice monster on my field." he explained as the spear-wielding monster broke up into a pile of snow flakes that were picked up by a sudden rush of wind, spiraling around the massive ice behemoth.

"Now I'm ready. Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru (6300), attack White Horned Dragon (3400)!" he commanded. Faster than could be expected of the juggernaut, it uncoiled its body and lunged forward, enveloping the weaker beast, encasing it in ice, which then shattered, effectively destroying it.

"I'm still in this! I can still throw my all against you!" Rei called, clutching her now shivering arms.

"Now you aren't." Yue countered, his tone very even and intense, though at the same time friendly and warm. "The effect of Snow Spearman is that when he battles a monster, damage is dealt in relation to the enemy monsters weaker stat. That means that when Hyrouinmaru attacked, the damage was equal to the difference of my monsters attack and your creatures defense, since White Horned Dragon's defense is lower than its attack." (RLP:0)

Hanging her head in defeat, Rei remained motionless as the holographic field and monsters vanished. As such, she did not notice when Yue approached, placing an arm on her shoulder, and saying something that only she could hear. Lifting her head, she nodded, and in a fit of spontaneity, threw her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly.

"Look at her," Kazuki heard the Ra Yellow directly in front of him mutter as she leaned in close to her friend. "Look at how she glomps my Yue-kun."

"_Your_ Yue-kun?" her friend challenged. "Sorry, but he's mine."

"Wanna bet!" the first one half-shrieked.

"Bring it on, bitch!" the second one barked back, bolting to her feet.

Kazuki tried to ignore the sudden melee occurring directly in front of him, which was not an easy task as the two girls rolled on the small bit of space allotted to them between the two levels of seating, hurling insults all the while.

"Well now, that was one bone-chilling match." Pegasus's voice was suddenly heard, booming over the speakers. "Now, let's not lose any of that momentum and go right on into the next match. Torisuna Miyato and Rodion Michkov, come on down!"

_To Be Continued..._

Well now, that was exciting. Short, yes, but still exciting. Basically, I wanted to show that Yue is strong. Really, really strong. Plus his deck is quite bitchin', ne?

Also, yes, before anyone asks, his field card and Hyourinmaru do come from Bleach. Basically, Hitsugaya as a whole inspired this ice deck, and so as a tribute to him, I created Hyourinmaru as the strongest monster.

_Next Time-Round two of the Duel Academy Duel Festival has begun, and it's time for the headstrong Torisuna to clash with the strong-willed Rodion. But when Torisuna declares his purpose, the duel evolves from a school activity into a grudge match._

_Next Time-Raise the Fighting Spirit!_

Original Cards-

Yue-Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru, Frozen Heavens, Frost Formation, Ice Lancer, Ice Sickle Strike, Snow Drift, Snow Soldier, Snow Spearman, Snow Blader, Repayment of Losses (Seeker of the Soul), Twilight Renewal (Seeker of the Soul).

Rei-White Horned Kaiser, Ivory Soldier

Yes, that's right. White Horned Dragon is from the Yu-Gi-Oh R manga, not by me. So if you wanna complain about it being broken, go to those people, although I seriously don't think it's that bad of a card.


	6. Raising the Fighting Spirit

Here's another chapter, people. I think it turned out quite well. I really enjoyed writing it, which is always a good sign. It was just hard to write this duel, since for one deck I had to make up a bunch of cards as I went along, and the other just wasn't very combo-intensive, for reasons you will quickly discover. However, once I had a clear idea of what I wanted, it was easy. Here you go.

Also, Torisuna Miyato is the property of Noble Paladin, as is his deck.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Six-Raise the Fighting Spirit**

"_Well now, that was one bone-chilling match." Pegasus's voice was suddenly heard, booming over the speakers. "Now, let's not lose any of that momentum and go right on into the next match. Torisuna Miyato and Rodion Michkov, come on down!"_

As the two students, both Ra Yellow, entered the arena, Pegasus noticed a sudden movement to his right. Turning his head just a few degrees, he smiled as he saw that it was Seto Kaiba himself, taking a seat next to the game tycoon.

"Ah, Kaiba-boy, so good to see you. It's been far to long since we met in person. It's almost as if you're angry at me." the white-haired man spoke first, though the younger one did not physically react in any way.

"I don't know what you're up to, Pegasus, but I don't like you involving my students in your little games." Kaiba finally huffed, though his eyes remained fixed on the arena.

"Moi?" Pegasus asked, his voice full of sarcasm. "You give me too much credit, Kaiba-boy. My life as a villain is long since over. Why, haven't I worked hard to support you and your friends, and now even this school? I'm holding this little get-together so that your students can enjoy themselves, and you have the nerve to accuse me of working some plot?"

"Yes." came the simple reply.

"You're too harsh, Kaiba. Haven't you ever heard of 'forgive and forget'?"

"Of course." Kaiba responded, shifting his eyes to glance at Pegasus, the corners of his lips tugging upward ever so slightly. "I just say that it's bull. Once an enemy, always an enemy, until one or the other is crushed into the ground and disappears from existence."

"So violent. I simply cannot understand how someone as stone-hearted as you could be such a gamer at the core." the president of I2 said, somberly.

"And I will never understand how someone obsessed with comics and cartoons can consider himself sane." Seto shot back.

As the two corporate leaders silently taunted one another, Eizan Kiske was sitting back against his own chair, tapping a finger against his chin in thought, mumbling completely incoherently as he did.

"What's on your mind?" Katsu asked, turning his head to glance at his co-worker and friend.

"A few things. Foremost, though, is this match, that it is. I saw yesterday that Torisuna was the one who had issued the challenge, meaning this is going to get ugly, that it will." the older man explained.

At hearing this, Katsu's eyes took on a knowing look as he turned back to the arena. He knew Torisuna. He was a good student, having earned his way into Ra Yellow shortly after the second semester had begun the year previous. However, he was also rather headstrong in what he believed.

Back in the arena, the two Ra Yellows were shuffling one another's deck, eyeing the other all along, sizing them up. The first had short, ruffled black hair and stood a few inches over five and a half feet in height. His yellow blazer was hanging open and a red armband could be seen above his duel disk with an indiscernible character written on it. Opposite him, his opponent stood several inches taller than him, with a much more muscular frame, and short cropped back hair.

After a few minutes, they returned the cards to their rightful owners, inserted them into their duel disks, and shook hands. At this time Rodion noticed that Torisuna was gripping his hand rather harshly, as if barely holding back a sense of savagery, though he wasn't surprised.

"Ah, Torisuna, it's been quite some time since we clashed in an arena together. When did it last happen? Final examination of last year, wasn't it?" The other boy nodded as he turned on his heel and began to head back to his end of the arena. "Well then, I hope that you are even stronger now than you were then. After all, four months is a long time, meaning I hope that your deck has developed since then, as has mine."

"My deck is as effective now as it was back then." Torisuna responded curtly as he reached the arena edge, turning back to his opponent. "However, I'll still never sink to your level." (TLP:4000)

"Why do you assume such venom upon me?" Rodion asked as he activated his own duel disk. "Our current record his one win and one loss for each. As for our personal records, you and I are even, meaning that the winner of this duel will advance in the Ra Yellow standings and may even earn their way into Obelisk Blue. Is that perhaps why you wish to face me?" (RLP:4000)

"You know why I challenged you, so draw your cards and let's throw down!" Torisuna called, whipping six cards off of his deck while his Russian opponent did the same, but one card less. Looking his cards over, the ruffled haired duelist quickly came to a decision. "I summon Apprentice Futaiten (1900/1000) in attack mode!"

A man in loose red martial arts pants that were tied around the waste while a ribbon of sorts wrapped around his lower torso repeatedly, looking like bandages around his ribs and disappearing underneath his belt. A red martial artist styled haori hung open over his upper body, the kanji for "Conviction" printed on the back. Finally, a white headband on his forehead completed the getup.

"That's strange." Kazuki muttered aloud to himself. "That monster doesn't have any kind of effect."

Taking another card from his hand, Torisuna slipped it into a magic zone, a brown backed card appearing in front of him. Taking another card, he slipped it into the slot directly behind his monster and instantly the lightweight shoes, as well as the feet of the fighter began to glow with a bright golden light as an enlarged image of the played magic card appeared behind him. "Big Bang Shot increases my monsters attack by four hundred and allows him to deal damage through defense."

"That is very impressive, a monster on the first turn with twenty-three hundred attack points and trample, and without any real drawback." Rodion commented, drawing a card. "However, while your monster has no backlash to his impressive base power, your magic card does have a weakness, which I will now exploit to my advantage."

Grabbing a card from his original five, the Russian duelist slapped it onto his duel disk, summoning a young woman with faded azure and gray hair and dressed in light blue robes. "This is my Twilight Sorceress LV3 (1100/600), who when summoned destroys one of your magic or trap cards on the field, and I am targeting your equipment magic card."

Lifting her arms and extending her fingers towards Torisuna's field, the young girl released a shower of sparks that floated gently through the air, completely ignored by the fighter as they passed him by and attaching to the holographic image of the magic card behind him. Once they were all gathered upon the card, covering it in a thin coat of the sparkles, they began to detonate themselves, as if it had been covered in five crackers, eventually crumbling into nothingness.

Growling in annoyance, Torisuna moved to place the magic card into his graveyard but was stopped by his opponents gruff voice. "Do not forget that when Big Bang Shot is sent to the graveyard, the monster that it was equipped to is removed from play." True to his words, the fighter faded away from existence, leaving Torisuna with just his one set card. "Now it is time to see if you are hiding anything for me to worry about. Twilight Sorceress LV3, attack him directly!"

Again aiming her fingers in the direction of the darker haired boy, the feminine spell user unleashed a flurry of sparkles, these golden instead of the previously red ones, which dropped all around Torisuna, popping upon contact with him, though he did not seem to notice the minuscule bits of pain. Nor did he activate his set card, meaning the attack was completely successful. (TLP:2900)

"You're as determined as ever," Rodion sighed, taking another two cards from his hand. "I will set two cards face down, and that will end my turn."

Drawing a card, Torisuna considered his five separate options. "I summon Crusher Heshioru (1900/1350) in attack mode!" A man with an extremely muscular body appeared, his shoulders being at _least_ four feet wide. He wore pants styled much like the previous monster, only white and ragged, the bottom hems completely shredded by years of harsh training. However, he wore no clothing over his upper body, nor did he have any sort of footwear.

"Next I'll use my Bond of Brothers magic card to pay one thousand of my life points to special summon two more level four or lower monsters of the same type as another monster on my field from my deck. So here come two more warriors!" (TLP:1900) Fanning his deck out, Torisuna quickly located the two monsters he was searching for and slapped them down onto his duel disk, each appearing on either side of the huge fighter he had summoned previously.

First to appear was a man almost identical to the first monster of the game, only his clothes were white and the kanji on his back read "Spirit" and his headband was navy blue. The second one was a slightly elder fighter, a thin mustache and beard beginning to frame his mouth, his scalp completely void of fuzz. His garments were also white, but his top was closed up and reached down to past his knees, much like a tai kwan doa uniform. On the back were two kanji, reading "Roundhouse Master".

"More normal monsters?" Kazuki asked himself, unable to wrap his mind around what Torisuna was doing. He'd had access to any level four or lower monsters in his deck. Surely he could have chosen monsters with effects to help reinforce his moves.

"These are Grappler Ikioi (1950/1600) and Kikanko Sensei (1950/0)." Torisuna introduced as the first took an aggressive fighting stance and the second one bowed slightly in reverence. "Next, before I go ahead and kick your ass, I'm gonna use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the set card on your right!" As he spoke, a funnel of wind burst from the card image that appeared on his field, arching over the field and striking the target card, which revealed itself for a moment to be a Negate Attack trap card. Rodion grimaced. "Kikanko Sensei, attack his Sorceress of Twilight LV3!" Hands still clasped behind his back, the fighting master sprinted forward and leapt into the air, performing a forward flip, and extending his right leg as he completed the turn, using the force of his turn and drop to deliver a high-powered kick.

"Activate face down card!" Rodion called as his other set card shifted into the active position. "Level Flux allows me to sacrifice a LV monster on my field and then special summon a higher form of that monster, but no more than two evolutions further. For instance, I could use this card with an Armed Drgaon LV3 to summon either Armed Dragon LV5 or LV7, but not LV10. In this case, I will summon Twilight Sorceress LV7 (2500/2000) from my deck!" he explained as the female magic user on his field flashed brightly for a few seconds. When the light cleared, a much older and more experienced version of the blue haired witch could be seen, her hair a much livelier shade of blue and her robes now dark as midnight.

"You may have a strong monster, but I now have the right of recall." Torisuna commented as his monster suddenly retracted his foot, allowing him to come to a stop just inches from the empowered monster, landing in a crouch. Springing backwards, he landed next to the other two monsters and folded his arms across his chest.

"Yes, but none of your monsters has the needed attack points to defeat my monster." Rodion responded. "However, before you continue allow me to point out the final effect of Level Flux is that I take damage equal to the attack of the monster I sacrificed to activate it." His life points dropped by eleven hundred, ending so that they were equal to what Torisuna had when his turn had begun. (RLP:2900)

"Go, quick-play magic card!" Torisuna shouted, taking one of the two cards from his hand and activating it. "Fighter's Pride!" As the card activated, both the massive man and the swift brawler seemed invigorated with confidence and stood forward, appearing ready to take on the world. However, both were stopped as the older man lightly extended his arm to the side and gave a highly confident look to the younger warriors, who looked back at him knowingly before standing down. "This card doubles the attack points of a level four or lower non-effect monster on my field until my next draw phase, but it is the only monster I may attack with this turn. However, to make up for that loss, as well as the situational requirement, when he destroys a monster I will gain the destroyed cards attack power as life points. Also, your monster cannot refuse the battle and it cannot be chained to."

Stepping forward, his pose oozing with self-assurance, the master fighter turned so that he was facing the female mage at a forty-five degree angle. Lifting his right arm out from behind his back, he curled his five fingers towards him in a "come" command, smirking all the while.

Taking the challenge, the sorceress lifted just her right arm, palm out, and fired a blast of purple light at the sagely warrior, who continued to smile knowingly.

Jumping into the air, he dodged the attack. Slashing his arm through the air and pointing towards her, fingers stretched out, a simple cloth ribbon shot out from within his sleeve, moving with such speed that it was more a blur to those watching. Wrapping around the maidens neck, he pulled her towards himself, choking her slightly as she sailed through the air, coming to a stop against his thrusting foot, shattering into thousands of fragments of light.

The players scores quickly began to change, showing the dramatic shift in advantage and power following the battle between the pumped-up Kikanko Sensei (3900) and the Twilight Sorceress LV7 (2500), as well as the final effect of Torisuna's magic card. (RLP:1500)(TLP:3300)

"That ends my turn." Torisuna declared, happy with how that exchange had gone, although he had to use up most of his hand. Now he only held one card, while Rodion had four after drawing for his turn.

"I set two cards face down and summon a monster in defense mode to end my turn." Rodion called as the three cards appeared before him, evening out the number of cards they both held.

"Now I've got you and your level monsters on the run. Draw!" Torisuna called. Looking at the card in his hand, he frowned when he could not use it and so added it to the other one he held. Then, turning his attention back to the field, he called to his monsters, "Crusher Heshioru, attack his monster!" Cracking his knuckles, the massive fighter approached the horizontal card, lifted both arms above his head, clasped the hands together, and swung down with all the power of every muscle in his upper body (which was quite a few), shattering the card without any form of struggle.

"Reveal face down card!" Rodion shouted as one of his two cards flipped up. "My Evolution of Desperation trap card, which I can only play when a LV monster that is the lowest in its set is destroyed. I may skip my next draw phase to special summon the next highest level of that monster. You destroyed Armed Dragon LV3 (1200/900), so now I may summon Armed Dragon LV5 (2400/1700)!"

In the wake of the shattered card formed a large beast, standing about seven feet high. It had short legs, thin arms ending in large hands, as well as a thick tail and small wings out of its back. It's head was rather bulbous, with large teeth and a seemingly stupid look in its eyes. It's body was mostly covered in orange scales, but much os it was covered in charcoal gray armor with spikes jutting out to add to the menacing factor.

"Damnit." Torisuna cursed, glaring at the large dragon. He knew of it's effect, as well as the potential abilities it could gain, and it meant that he had suddenly been forced onto the defensive. Sighing, he reached for the monster cards on his duel disk and began to shift them sideways. In response, each monster on the field fell into a crouch, arms crossed over their bodies defensively.

"My turn." Rodion called. "However, as I said, I must skip my draw phase this turn. However, it matters little thanks to the card in my hand. I play Level Up to turn my LV5 monster into Armed Dragon LV7 (2700/1000)!" he called as he emptied his hand. As he did so, the squat dragon on his field began to glow, his form growing until it was twice its previous size.

When the light faded, it was obvious that the new beast was much more deadly than it's earlier form. It's body was now fully matured, with powerful arms, a sturdy body, a narrow, developed head, and it's body covered in thick obsidian and silver armor with dozens of steel spikes and blades extending out at various points and angles. In every way it was more devastating than its previous form.

"Now it is time to activate my final set card, Level Strike, allowing me to activate the effect of a level monster on my field without cost, set to its maximum potential. However, I must forfeit my battle phase." he spoke. "But it will be worth it to allow my Armed Dragon LV7 to burn all of your monsters to ashes!"

Arching back its head, the large dragon let loose a massive wave of fire that engulfed the field, burning away all three of Torisuna's monsters without any trouble. The shorter duelist himself was forced to brace his body against the force of the attack and raising his arms up to try and protect himself from the blast.

"Is that all you've got?" he asked of his Russian opponent.

"For now, sadly, it is."

"Then it's my turn!" he called, whipping a card off of his deck, giving him three total. "I activate my face down card, Determination of the Underdog!" he shouted as the trap card revealed itself. "By discarding one card from my hand, I may special summon any normal monsters destroyed since my last end phase."

Taking the card he had drawn the previous turn, he placed it into his graveyard and smiled as three cards were shot out into his hand. As he set the cards onto the field, his Crusher Heshioru (1900/1350), Grappler Ikioi (1950/850) and Kikanko Sensei (1950/0) reappeared on his field.

"You can summon them all you want, but with my Armed Dragon I can just keep on destroying them." Rodion laughed as he watched the monsters return and scowl at him, showing their irritation at how he had destroyed them the way he had.

"Yeah, we'll just see about that. I activate Treasure of Fate, allowing me to roll a die and then draw a number of cards equal to what I roll. Then I have to remove that same number of cards from my deck from play." Torisuna called as the image of his new card appeared and spat out a die which bounced along the floor for a moment, eventually coming to a stop on...

"A two?" Torisuna frowned, his face falling in disappointment. Straightening himself out, he drew the top two cards off of his deck and then took two more and slipped them into his back pocket. "Not what I was hoping for."

"Heh, indeed it is most unexpected." Rodion agreed with a light chuckle. "However, you still hold three cards now, and I have none. Surely you can show me some of your resolve, can you not."

"Don't patronize me." Torisuna shot back. "I summon a monster in defense mode and set one card face down to end my turn."

Drawing a card, Rodion laughed lightly when he saw what the card was. "The times may have played against you this time my friend, but they seem to have an ironic sense of humor indeed. I activate my own Treasure of Fate. Now, let us see if my luck is any stronger than yours, shall we." Another white die fell to the ground and began to bounce about, finally coming to a stop with five black dots aimed at the ceiling. "And indeed it is." Rodion laughed, drawing five cards and then removing five more, in total burning away ten cards in his deck. Quickly glancing at what he had removed, he placed them into a small pouch that had been sewed onto his pant leg.

"Now that I have so many wondrous options open to me, I think I shall begin to take you apart. And I will begin by summoning my Mystic Swordsman LV2 (900/0) in attack mode." A short warrior in purple samurai clothing with a white headdress and mantle appeared, a small sword in his hands.

"Now I shall equip Armed Dragon LV7 with Level Slasher, which is a very useful tool in this deck. You see, when a Level monster destroys one of your monsters in battle, I may then sacrifice another Level monster on the field and summon the next level." he explained as the claws of the dragon began to glow with a golden light.

"Finally, the magic card known as Level Assault allows all Level monsters on my field to attack twice this turn, but may only be activated if I have fewer monsters than you do."

From his seat, Kazuki continued to ponder the way the duel was going. Thus far it had been pretty even, going back and forth over and over again. However, Torisuna had minimal defenses now, and Rodion didn't seem to worried about the success of his attack. After all, it was obvious that Torisuna didn't use effect monsters, so there was no threat from his set monster, and even if it were an effect monster then the Mystic Swordsman would easily take care of it.

Yet despite all of this, Torisuna didn't seem terribly worried. No, that wasn't it. He seemed plenty worried about losing his monsters. However, he seemed confident about something that went deeper than the current state of the duel. Was he just happy that the duel had been so even?

"What do you make of it, Eizan?" Katsu asked from his seat.

"Torisuna knows that he's about to lose his monsters, as well as a good number of life points, and that by the turns end he'll be facing off against two very powerful monsters. However, his pride is satisfied with how the duel is going. They have fought as equals, and he's still in this duel. He's being pushed to his limits, and that's what he wants. He says he has his ideals, but in the end, he duels for his pride and to get stronger." Eizan sagely explained.

"True." Katsu said, his voice cold as ever. "And of course Rodion is responding by giving his all. He duels simply because he enjoys it, yet Torisuna is capable of bringing something else to the surface in him. He can feel Torisuna's challenge, and so he feels compelled to respond and give his all. No one else is capable of drawing this out of Rodion, and that in and of itself is a victory for Torisuna."

Back in the arena, Rodion was setting a single card face down, leaving him once again with just one card in his hand. Looking across the field, his eyes met with his rival's, both sets narrowing in determination.

"Armed Dragon LV7, attack Kikanko Sensei and Grappler Ikioi!" As dragon arched back his head, preparing his attack, the two target monsters both sprang into action, sprinting across the field towards the beast.

Coming to a stop at the base of the dragon, the younger fighter spun around and squatted slightly, cupping his hands in front of him just as the elder warrior leapt into the air, his foot landing in the hands of his waiting partner, who flung him up towards the head of their target. Spinning in the air, the master fighter spun around rapidly in a roundhouse kick, striking the dragon on the side of the face.

The beast didn't even flinch.

Snapping its head down, the dragon released a stream of fire that engulfed both fighters and burned them to ashes, dealing immense damage both times. (TLP:1600)

"And since my Armed Dragon just destroyed two of your monsters, my Mystic Swordsman grows, first to LV4 (1900/1600) and then to LV6 (2300/1700)." Rodion explained as his monster grew until he was about five feet in height and his mantle changed so that there was a long white piece that hung over his front down to his knees and a long cape down his back. Also, he now held two glowing swords.

Then he grew again, this time ending at about six and a half feet, plus his headdress which now curved backwards while a guard covered the upper half of his face with holes for the eyes. His armor had turned dark blue, and the front half of the mantle was now sewed to the cape down to the waist, at which point both sides flared out in their own directions. Finally, his short blades were now much longer, made of the same plasmic energy as the previous forms only seeming to be flexible, and a second, short blade ran up along side each one.

"Now, Mystic Swordsman LV6 will attack your Heshioru and then your face down monster!"

Flipping the blades around in his hands so that they extended from the outer end of his fists, the swordsman charged across the field with expert grace, rivaling that of Torisuna's previous monsters. However, the massive crushing monster was no match for his agile foe, who twisted his body to the right, adding force to a slash from his left hand sword, slicing through the muscles of Torisuna's monster, defeating him in a single blow. Then, twisting to the left, the sword user slashed diagonally up, cutting the horizontal horizontal card, the last monster Torisuna had, in half. (TLP:1200)

"Also, do not forget the effect of my Mystic Swordsman LV6," Rodion pointed out. "Since he attacked a face down monster, it was destroyed by his effect and then set on top of your deck instead of the graveyard."

Clenching his teeth, Torisuna followed the directions, returning his monster to his deck. "I'm not out yet, you bastard. I've still got plenty of life points to go."

"Yes, but you're out of monsters, have only one set card on the field, which aparently you cannot use to protect yourself, and only one card in your hand. Add to that the fact that you will be drawing a useless monster in your next turn and the monsters on my field, and I would say I pretty much have you locked." the Russian boy replied, very matter-of-factly.

"We'll see about that. Draw!" he shouted, snapping the card off with a great ferocity. "I play my set card, Tiny Pound Hammer to shuffle itself and the two cards in my hand back into my deck and then draw that same number of cards!" he called as he shuffled the three cards into his deck quickly. Drawing three new cards, he smirked.

"Were you hoping that by setting that card for now you could bluff me out until you had enough cards in your hand worth shuffling in?" Rodion asked, curious.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you tried something like that lock, so I decided to try and hold out until it was the right time to use my hammer." Torisuna answered as some of his hair fell over his eye. Brushing it aside, he examined his three cards.

"I summon Unarmed Soldier Kiryoku (1900/1450) in attack mode!" A man in red armor much like Rodion's swordsman without the headdress or mantle, appeared. Stamped onto his chest was the kanji for "Fist", and to enforce that he took a stance with his two hands clenched tightly and held at the ready for an attack, leaving the remainder of him unguarded.

"What is the rest of your plan?" Rodion asked, since it was obvious that Torisuna was planning a combination.

"Don't rush me." Torisuna shouted back as he grabbed the card on the right. "I equip my Unarmed Soldier with Never Hesitate, which can only be equipped to a non-effect warrior monster, powering him up by six hundred points and gives him a trample ability." A crimson aura began to emit itself from the monster on Torisuna's field, who now seemed even more eager than before to go into battle.

"Now, Unarmed Soldier Kiryoku (2500), attack his Mystic Swordsmna LV6!" Finally free to move, the red garbed fighter sprinted across the field, each step seeming to carry him across wide ranges of ground in an instant. Standing in front of the magical soldier, he startled the sword user and grabbed his wrist to keep him from using his weapons to attack. Then, moving the swordsman's arm out of the way, he punched with his right hand, digging into the belly of his opponent, causing all sorts of internal damage, killing the man without ever having to draw blood. (RLP:1300)

"I set one card face down and that ends my turn." Torisuna called, emptying his hand.

"Draw!" Rodion shouted, giving him two cards to choose from. "I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 (1600/1000) in attack mode!" A large bird, about three feet tall, appeared on his field, it's body entirely metal.

'_He could have discarded that card to destroy Torisuna's monster and then attack directly, so why didn't he?'_ Kazuki asked himself.

"Rather than recklessly using my dragon's effect to destroy your monster, I have summoned this little creature to help in bringing out one of the most deadly Level monsters there is. You have proven yourself to be far to resourceful, otherwise." Rodion explained to his opponent, though Kazuki got the feeling it was more so for the sake of those in the audience who were confused.

"Next I shall activate my face down card, Level Turning, to special summon a Level monster from my graveyard, regardless of his summoning requirements. So, I will of course choose my Mystic Swordsman LV6 (2300/1700). In exchange, you may now draw two cards." Shocked so see the energy sword wielding monster reappear on the field, Torisuna nearly forgot to draw the cards his opponent had just given him.

"And now, for my final magic card, Level Jump! I paying half of my life points, I may now evolve a Level monster on my field to its highest form. So, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4, become the Black Flame Dragon LV8 (3000/1800)!" (RLP:650)

In a flash of light, the metal covered bird multiplied in size, coming out to be just as big as the Armed Dragon, with its wings spread out wide, sturdy legs to stand on, a new draconic tail, and large, talon-shaped arms.

"While this monster is in play, I may choose to negate and destroy magic cards at my own discretion." Rodion explained while his opponent bit back a grimace. "Now, let us test the waters, shall we? Armed Dragon LV7, attack his Unarmed Soldier!"

Pulling its arm back, blades glowing with gold light, the dragon prepared his attack and thrust forward, intent on skewering the red armored fighter through the chest. In response, the smaller duelist's monster copied the movement, their fists connecting, power crackling at the point of impact. Though neither of them seemed ready to give up, everyone knew it was just for show and that the dragon would soon overtake the fight. And take the fight it did, beginning to push the red warrior back, and finally down onto one knee.

"Get out of my pool!" Torisuna suddenly called, surprising everyone as his trap card revealed itself. "Activate face down card, Fight to the Death! When you attack a warrior monster on my field, this card destroys your monster and increases my monsters attack by five hundred!" Instantly the struggle did a complete turn-around as the scarlet clothed warriors aura suddenly increased in size and intensity, allowing him to start pushing the massive claw back. Then, with one last spring of his legs he overpowered the dragon, dissolving its arm as he pushed forward, followed by the rest of its body.

"So very impressively done." Rodion clapped, invigorated by the battle, even though it had come out worse for him. "Since I have no cards left in my hand, my turn is over." Torisuna drew.

"Time for me to prove that I've been right all these years; that effect monsters are an abomination and that someone with a focused mind can break them in half!"

"Torisuna, you make the mistake in believing that one method of battle is superior to another." Rodion solemnly declared, his arms folded over his chest. "Do you think that there are others who share your feelings on the matter?"

"Of course." the shorter boy replied. "Many people will agree with me that relying on the effects of monsters is cowardice. We should push on with our monsters raw strength and use magic and trap cards to gain the advantage and protect ourselves. That is how this game first was, and that is how it should remain. Those who hide behind their monsters effects are just scared of what the opponent might have waiting rather than biting the bullet and fighting head-on! They were scared of trap cards, so they would use Jinzo. They couldn't handle powerful enemy monsters, so they'd use Cyber Jar. Even you; you use your monster effects to control the field while focusing your magic and trap cards to help use those monster effects. Why not just use normal monsters, and then get those destructive effects out of your magic and trap cards!"

"If that is what you have decided, then come at me, and let us decide here and now!" Rodion called back, accepting the challenge, a confident smile on his face.

"Yes, let's!" Torisuna shouted back. "Kiryoku (3000), attack Mystic Swordsman LV6!" Jumping into the air, the fighter's aura flared out, keeping him airborne and thrusting him forward. Upon reaching his target, he let loose a flurry of punches, striking faster than the eye could properly register. After a few seconds, the pummeled body of Rodion's monster fell to the ground and shattered, taking with it nearly all of his life points. (RLP:50)

"I set one card face down and end." Torisuna called, wiping some sweat from his brow.

"I draw and activate Level Draw, allowing me to draw one card for every two levels of a Level monster on my field. So I draw four because Horus is a level eight monster!" Rodion called, giving him a hand of four cards, twice the size of Torisuna's. "I play Level Restoration, allowing me to remove one Level monster that is at least level five from my graveyard from play to revive another Level monster. So I remove Armed Dragon LV5 from play to special summon Armed Dragon LV7 (2800/1000) from my graveyard."

As he spoke, Rodion watched the massive creature form on the field, restored to full power and ready for revenge. "I'm not done there, though. I sacrifice Armed Dragon LV7 to summon Armed Dragon LV10 from my hand!" In a flash of light, the black armored dragon grew again, the end result being bigger, darker, with even more ferocious looking armor, each blade looking to be about the size of a grown man's body. "Now to use his effect, I discard a card from my hand to destroy all face up monsters on your field."

Preparing a fireball of immense proportions, the dragon continued to watch it's prey, a monster of equal attack power, though significantly smaller. Add to that the fact that it didn't even have a special ability of its own, and the dragon was terribly insulted. As it let loose the flame, one could have sworn they saw the dragon smirking at the coming destruction.

One would be even more surprised when they saw the ball of fire suddenly fizzle out in mid flight, as if it had suddenly run out of material to burn to sustain itself.

"What happened?" Rodion asked, his surprise immense. Then he saw Torisuna's field, and he understood.

"I activated my Skill Drain trap card to pay one thousand life points, and so now all monsters on the field are stripped of their effects. Without an effect, your dragon can't destroy my monsters." the smaller boy explained, smirking, even though it had taken most of his life points to do that. (TLP:200)

Chuckling, Rodion set a card face down and ended his turn. Instantly Torisuna drew, the transition from one player to the other looking like one fluid, synchronized motion. Taking a minute to glance at his armband, he instantly came up with a move.

"It ends here, Rodion, so let's test my luck again. I play Magic Shard Excavation to discard the last two cards in my hand to take back a magic card from my graveyard." Dropping the cards into his graveyard, he waited a minute for the card he wanted, which he then played. "Treasure of Fate once again!" Biting his lip, he waited with baited breath to see what he would roll, and nearly split his face in half laughing when it came up as a six! Drawing and then removing a total of twelve cards, he looked his new hand over and instantly grabbed half of them and began slipping them into magic zones.

"I play Spell Economics, meaning I no longer have to pay life points to magic cards. Then I have two more Bond of Brothers cards to summon a total of four monsters from my deck, and its free this time because of my Economics card." he laughed as he searched for the cards he wanted.

"Fist Fighter Sentou (1950/750)!" A man in clothes just like the first few monsters Torisuna had summoned wore, only black, appeared, with a black headband and the kanji reading "Fight" written in white on his back. "Grappler Ikioi (1950/1600)!" Another copy of the man in white, but otherwise identical to Sentou appeared, his back still reading "Spirit". "Kikanko Sensei (1950/0)!" Another of the elderly fighting masters appeared, hands behind his back as he stood tall and ready for battle. "And Deathblow Jifushin (1950/1550)!" A man in clothes identical to the master fighter, only blue and the kanji for "Pride" on his back, appeared. Also, he wore his top hanging open so that it appeared more like a trench coat of sorts, revealing a very muscular body underneath, with a white tank-top wrapped around him.

"And what do you plan to do with these monsters?" Rodion asked, although he already had a pretty good idea what Torisuna was planning.

"My monsters are going to unite and kick your now effectless monsters into next semester! Maybe the semester after that." Torisuna shouted back as he took the center card from his hand and played it. "Brave Attack allows my monsters to combine for an attack this turn, but I'll have to sacrifice them all at the end of the turn. However, I doubt that that'll be a problem, since combined they total ten thousand eight hundred attack points!"

Rodion's eyes widened at seeing this. Although he had expected something like it, seeing the combo actually unroll was still an amazing sight. Shocked, Kazuki found himself just staring at the field of five monsters, his jaw hanging as he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that there were enough attack points there to beat any duelist full of life points nearly three times over.

Taking a minute to twist so that his armband was facing his opponent, Torisuna quoted what was written there: "'Stength of Mind, Strength of Victory!' That is what I've done here. I've combined my own ideals with my monsters, who I combined with magic cards and then with each other, and now victory is mine!"

Taking another of his cards from his hand, Torisuna pushed it into a magic zone. "A Vow on the Grave of a Fallen Hero allows me to remove normal warrior monsters in my graveyard from play to destroy one card on your field, so I remove Crusher Heshioru from play to destroy your face down card." Taking the card from his graveyard, Torisuna did not seem to notice as a massive, astral fist appeared on his field, spinning rapidly before launching forward and smashing the target card to pieces.

"Now the stage is set. Fist Fighter Sentou, Grappler Ikioi, Unarmed Soldier Kiryoku, Kikanko Sensei, and Deathblow Jifushin, attack his Armed Dragon LV10!"

As one, the five warriors leapt into the air, a blue aura encompassing them, combining their strength. Simultaneously they struck, Sentou's fist striking the chest, Ikioi ramming head-on into the dragon's throat, Kiryoku's fist embedding itself in the dragon's stomach, Kikanko Sensei kicking strait up, knocking the dragons head to snap back, cracking its neck. Finally, Jifushin decended from above, kicking directly into the face of the dragon, causing its face to cave in slightly.

With the combined power of the attacks, the dragon fell backwards, dissolving into millions of pixels as it did so. (RLP:0)

Everyone was silent, watching in awe at the incredible display. Had Torisuna, armed with a deck void of effect monsters, brought Rodion Mevich and his Level monsters crashing down? It seemed almost unthinkable. How could a deck with only so many effect cards be so powerful? Was Torisuna right?

"Well done both of you." Pegasus called, rising to his feet. "What a display. I don't know if anyone will be able to follow it up. It just went back and forth, back and forth, until finally ending in a tie."

"A tie?" Torisuna asked, looking down at his life point reader. (TLP:0) A holographic image of the score flashed above his head, followed by countless confused murmurs from the audience, drowning out all other noise.

"Please, please, calm down." Pegasus called, his voice barely rising above everyone else thanks to the microphone at the base of his neck. After several minutes of this, the confused voices died down and then the event sponsor continued.

...At least he would have if he hadn't been cut off by the voice of Seto Kaiba as he stepped forward, standing next to his business rival.

"Torisuna did not destroy Rodion's set card, Rodion activated it-"

"Kaiba, whatever are you doing? I was doing a fine job of handling the crowd and was just about to explain." Pegasus interjected, his voice feigning offense.

"You take far too long. Plus I thought I'd spare them the sound of your voice." the younger man answered before turning back to the audience. "Rodion's set card was a trap known as Level Corruption, which deals the opponent damage equal to the level of an LV monster times two hundred at the time of destruction. It's effect blankets the field all turn long, so even though it was destroyed before Armed Dragon LV10 was destroyed, it's effect remained, and so Torisuna took two thousand damage when he destroyed Armed Dragon."

After hearing this, the crowd instantly broke out into cheers after seeing such an amazing duel. It would be a hard act to follow, but there were plenty of duels to follow.

Down on the field, Torisuna and Rodion were shaking hands, both smiling.

"That was quite a duel." Rodion commented.

"Yeah, it was." Torisuna agreed. "Of course, next time I'll be stronger and I'll prove my point there and then."

"Torisuna, is it no possible that neither way is absolutely true?" Rodion asked. "So long as you push yourself, testing your every faculty, isn't victory always possible, and isn't such a warrior always honorable?"

"Even if that's true, I'm going to continue on my path as I have until someone can prove to me the absoluteness." the shorter of the two answered. Turning around, he walked off, casually waving as he did so. Rodion did the same.

XXXXXXXX

"Well, that was unexpected, that it was." Eizan said, leaning back.

"It's only unexpected because these duels don't have anything to do with your plans." Katsu pointed out, straitening his glasses.

"Of course they are related to what is to come. It just doesn't matter to me who wins, just so long as he's watching, that it does. For now, sit back and relax. You'll need to be ready for later, that you will."

"Do you think Pegasus will keep his word?" Katsu asked.

"Of course." Eizan smiled. "He has nothing to lose, that he does not. Plus he's a man of honor. Once we do our part, he'll fulfill his part of the contract, that he will. In truth, I don't think he'd normally have put the conditions on it if I hadn't explained the situation."

"I have little doubt of that." Katsu said. "Still, the conditions are there, and Pegasus is no fool. He's a very clever man, and an eccentric one at that. Despite how much you've planned this out, he wont make it easy, and he'll do everything he can to catch you off guard."

"I know that." Eizan said, his face and voice caught between his usual sing-song happy and dead serious. It was a bizarre and frightening combination. "I'm counting on it, that I am."

_To Be Continued..._

Well, that was certainly interesting. And an intense duel, if I do say so myself, which I do. Again I'd like to thank Noble Paladin for submitting Torisuna and his interesting deck. And, of course, I appreciate all of my readers and reviewers who have enjoyed this story. Your excited words continue to inspire me to write, and all too often do I find myself in a situation where writing just doesn't sound all that great. Then I remember you guys and force myself to get started, and that is how I really get into the work.

_Next Time-In the wake of the duel between Torisuna and Rodion, various others clash in harsh competition. Before too long, the day is half done. Now it's time for the duels between two higher-up students to begin. Up first are two young Ra Yellows, both with just one goal in mind: Obelisk Blue!_

_Next Time-Hero's Journey; Nine Virtues _

Torisuna-Fighter's Pride

Rodion-Twilight Sorceress LV3, Twilight Sorceress LV7, Level Flux, Evolution of Desperation, Level Slasher, Level Draw (Seeker of the Soul), Level Assault, Level Jump, Level Corruption, Level Restoration, Level Strike

Torisuna's Cards by Noble Paladin-Apprentice Futaiten, Kikanko Sensei, Grappler Ikioi, Crusher Heshioru, Never Hesitate, A Vow on the Grave of a Fallen Hero, Fight to the Death, Fist Fighter Sentou, Unarmed Soldier Kiryoku, Deathblow Jifushin


	7. Hero's Journey Nine Virtues

Hey everyone. This is Time Mage, reporting to you live from the North Campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. More specifically, the fifth floor, room 516. Since I finished the inventory for the NSRL Project (you can look it up on Wikipedia if you're curious as to what that stands for) lab yesterday, I didn't have anything to really do today. As such, I got to finish this, and even post it (though I had to bum my supervisor's Flash Drive off of her).

I thought I'd have this chapter up soon, but one of the decks was just so crazy that it was hard to use it in moderation. All I can say is that this is perhaps the most intense duel this story has thus far seen! Also, to help make up for the wait, I am (technically) giving you tow duels, though one is just last little bit.

Enjoy!

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Seven-Hero's Journey; Nine Virtues**

The air was tense to a point that it could practically be seen. However, it was a good thing that it couldn't, because if it were then the hundreds of spectators wouldn't be able to see the duel currently in progress. As the hours of the Duel Festival had ticked by, various match-ups had been seen. However, none was as odd as the one currently in action.

One of the two duelists, a young woman from Ra Yellow with light blue hair, was wearing a pale pink kimono with a purple obi around her waist. On her field was a figure that appeared to be a man. He was tall, somewhat muscular, with long fingers that ended in short claws. He was dressed in baggy pants while a mantle of white material covered his upper body and hung past his waist, where it was synched in by a white belt. His eyes were gold and only added to the feral look in his face, shrewd like a fox, framed by a thick matt of long snow-white hair.

Her opponent, however, was no less confounding in appearance. She had long black hair that hung down to her mid-back, though just bellow the base of her neck it was tied. Instead of her uniform she wore a white top and a red feminine hakama-skirt. On her field was a tall man with silver-blue hair, though he also was not entirely human. The base color for his clothes (which consisted of extremely baggy pants and a loose fitting top with long sleeves which flared out at his wrists) was white. Pink designs flowed over the hems of his sleeves, while a black plate of some material was shaped like armor over his lower torso and upper legs, with a bright yellow sash wrapped around his waist. Bound to him by said sash was a long sword with a triangular blade, but no sheath, as well as an ebony katana scabbard which was empty, its usual occupant now in the grip of its owner.

Most startling of his appearance, though, was a massive length of fur draped over his right shoulder, hiding all of his right arm except his fist, and only that because it was holding the thin katana. The fur didn't seem to serve any purpose, beyond decoration, only adding to its absurdities.

In addition to his elaborate attire, the warrior's face was one of curious work. Thought at first glance very human, one would merely need to do a double-take to notice that his eyes were an unnatural shade of gold, or to realize the small purple crescent moon on his forehead, or his elongated and pointed ears. His face was also seemed to be permanently affixed with a haughty sneer mixed with a cold lack of emotion, except for his obvious koros.

This was the scene that Kazuki and the rest of the student body had before them, and it had been very much like this for the entirety of the duel. Of course, it wasn't the monsters that made it so bizarre, or even the girls outfits that had caused most spectators to either sweatdrop with shock or burst out laughing. No, it was the added dialogue by the competitors.

"You're attack was a good one, Miyako," the one with black hair said with a confident grin. "But if you thought you could kill Sesshomaru-senpai (2700/2500) that easily, you never stood a chance."

"You just got lucky with Tenseiga's barrier effect!" the one with blue hair, now identified as Miyako shouted back, sounding annoyed. "But I'm still gonna prove that he's second rate compared to my ultra-bishi Yoko Kurama (2400/2100)!" The black-haired girl shrugged with flashing a knowing smile.

Looking at her three cards in hand, Miyako grabbed a card from her hand and slipped it into her graveyard. "I'll use Yoko Kurama-san's effect to discard a card from my hand to place a card from my side deck into my hand. Then, because Yoko-san is the only monster on my field, and if he has lower attack points than one of your monsters, I can play that card immediately rather than waiting till next turn, like I normally would have to. The card I chose was one of his most deadly tricks known as Sinning Tree. It will trap Fluffy in a prison of his own sins, keeping him from attacking, defending, or using his effects. Also you will take his level times one hundred as damage each of your standby phases that he's trapped."

All around the silver haired man known as Sesshomaru, or Sesshomaru-senpai in the black haired girls case, sprang a number of plant sprouts, growing rapidly and moving on their own. He simply looked down at them in disgust, not seeming to worry even in the slightest as the vines grabbed at his legs and then continued to grow. Before long he was completely engulfed except for his face, and still he remained entirely passive.

Setting one of her two remaining cards face down, Miyako ended her turn, the face down image appearing to the left of her face up continuous magic card. Without a seconds hesitation, the other girl drew, giving her a full hand of six cards. However, before she could take any other action, the bulbous plant in front of her began to glow an acid green color and her life points dropped a fair amount. (GLP:500)

"Feh, even with Yoko's annoying plants you still couldn't really defeat This Sesshomaru-senpai." As she said this she seemed to not notice the audible grown that emitted from the audience as she once again referred to him both as a lord, but even more so annoyingly in the third person. "However, it seems that if I want to end it this turn, then Sesshomaru-senpai will need to be saved by his little brother. He wont be happy with this, but I hope that he'll forgive me for having to use the half-breed to help him out."

The entire audience now face-fellas she spoke about her monster as if he were real and her jealous lover or some such.

"Do your worst, Ami!" Miyako shot back. "That hanyou can't stop me."

Clicking her tongue in her cheek, the girl now known as Ami slapped a card onto her duel disk. In a flash of light her monster appeared, another young man, appearing to be about fifteen or sixteen, with very light tan skin and snow white hair, though more silky than Yoko Kurama's. He definitely appeared to be related to Sesshomaru, though the resemblance would be miss guessed at just a first glance. He was dressing in some sort of Japanese robes, colored red, with a katana sheathed at his waist. He also had two fuzzy white dog ears on top of his head.

"I summon InuYasha (1600/1600) in attack mode. And when summoned, he is automatically equipped with Tetsuaiga from my hand, deck or graveyard, giving him five hundred additional attack points and the ability to forfeit his attack to deal his attack as damage to all monsters on your field."

Grabbing the hilt of the sword at his waist, the man-dog drew his weapon, a curious golden light burning around the blade as it was pulled forth. To everyone's awe, the blade became massive as it passed through that spark of light, the end result being a curved blade that was at least eight inches wide at its narrowest point (except for the tip of course), and at least an inch thick. It had to weight at least eighty pounds, but very easily could have been as much as twice that weight.

"InuYasha himself is a half demon, and so his basic power isn't nearly as great as his big brother, who, like their father, is a taiyoukai, or Great Demon Lord. However, the sword his father left for him makes up the difference, because it gets stronger each time it kills an enemy. And, when it kills a powerful enemy, such as a taiyoukai, it can grow to a new level of power by cocky in the blood of the fallen foe."

"I know the history. I've been in the Academy Anime Club just as long as you have, remember?" Miyako huffed, sounding bored. Ami didn't even flinch.

"This ability is emulated here as well. When InuYasha destroys a monster that is level four or lower, Tetsuaiga gains a counter. He gains three counters when he destroys a level five or six monster, and when he destroys a level seven or higher monster, he automatically is set at the maximum of eight. For every counter on Tetsuaiga, he gains an additional one hundred attack points. However, when he has eight, I can sacrifice them to search my deck for any one of several magic cards."

"Fascinating an all, but you forget that you only have this turn before my Sinning Tree finishes you off, and you haven't even destroyed one monster with your puppy-boy." Miyako retorted.

"I know that." Ami grinned back, her attitude of absolute arrogance having instantly changed over to cocky and energetic, as she grabbed another card. "I play Taiyoukai Death, which instantly sets Tetsuaiga at eight counters!" As her magic card activated, a sparkling blue light began to spiral around the large blade that her monster held, her grin growing all the more emphatic. Taking her deck from her duel disk, she fanned it out and scanned the cards over, coming to decision on one towards the bottom, which she added to her hand before shuffling the remainder and returning them.

"I play the magic card, Diamond Tetsuaiga, which equips to the normal Tetsuaiga, giving it newfound powers!" As the magic card activated, the coils of light around the sword tightened around the sword until the natural resistance of the blade's matter came into effect, causing the light to explode, blinding everyone for a moment.

Once sight had returned to everyone in the arena, they ooh-ed and awe-ed at the sight of her monsters new sword. Instead of the thick white material it had originally been composed of, it was now a rigid, glistening blue diamond well-crafted into the exact shape and size of the previous blade.

"This card will first add an additional one thousand points to InuYasha's attack." Ami explained as her monster's power jumped from twenty-one hundred up to thirty-one hundred. "Next, InuYasha can attack all of your monsters at once, though that's kinda moot now, since you only have one monster. Not that it matters, since you're already barely holding in there." she grinned as she nodded at Miyako's life point reader, which displayed for all to see her score. (MLP:300)

In fright, Miyako took an involuntary step back, eyeing the behemoth that InuYasha had become. "You...you had him in your hand all along, didn't you? You've been holding back, haven't you?"

"You could look at it that way." Ami said nonchalantly. "I really did it because That Sesshomaru-senpai wouldn't have liked to fight along side his little brother. And I could never purposely do anything that might make That Sesshomaru-senpai be angry at me."

Again, the audience face-fell as she used the third person for her monster.

"InuYasha (3100/2100), attack with Kongo Souha!" she commanded. With a grunt, the red-robed dog-man swung his sword fully across his front, leaving dozens of massive shards of the same material as the blade in its wake, which flung themselves forward from the force of the swing. They zoomed a high speeds at Yoko Kurama, a wall of needles capable of turning him into a pincushion.

That, however, was something that Miyako refused to allow. Grinning ferally, a sudden change from her obvious feint at fear, she activated her set card.

"You should know better than to corner an animal like a fox, Ami. They have a tendency to show their teeth!" she shouted as her set card flipped up and a translucent screen appeared between her monster and the coming attack. "Mirror Force will protect Yoko Kurama and me, and destroy your monster."

Unable to stop, the wall of diamond shards crashed into the barrier...and broke through, leaving rough holes in the wall with hairline cracks all around them. As more and more spears broke through, the small cracks they left met each other and overlapped, causing the entire obstruction to shatter. Miyku watched in shock and confusion as her monster was pelted by the hail of crystal, an event that, if real, would have left a messy pile of blood, bone, and interns on the ground, though in this case it simply caused Yoko Kurama to shatter.

"Kongo Souha is probably Tetsuaiga's second most deadly attack, and it pops even the most deadly barriers like a soap bubble. When you chain to his attack in this state, he negates and destroys the card." Ami explained. "However, the life point damage dealt is reduced by half." (MLP:0)

Walking over to her fallen foe after the holograms had faded, Ami stood over Miyako haughtily. "Now, say it."

"Fine. You're the official president of the Academy Anime Club." Miyako snorted, suddenly sounding not to care.

"And..." Ami prodded. Miyako responded by looking up at her with fear and denial evident on her face. However, she didn't say anything, causing Ami to prod again, this time more forcefully. "And..."

Clenching her teeth in pain, Miyako suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs "InuYasha and Sesshomaru-sempai are the ultimate bishounens!"

The entirety of the audience promptly face-fell for the third time.

Tears in her eyes, Miyako fled from the arena, hands over her face. Smuggly, Ami shouted after her "Damn straight they are!"

Any member in the audience who had managed to get back into their seat quickly enough quickly fell to the ground again.

"Well, that was fun." Pegasus chimed over the loud speaker as Ami stepped off of the arena. "Although I always liked Kenshin more." This comment was instantly met with a heart-stopping glare from Ami, who had snapped her head around at the comment, glaring straight up at the executive box.

Coughing nervously, startled by the deadly look, Pegasus looked back out into the arena as a whole, mostly just to avoid making eye contact with Ami until she turned away and stalked off. "Anyway, next up is one of the last duels that will be performed for the purpose of advancing one of the combatants dorm, Ra Yellow to Obelisk Blue in this case. Simon Reddington and Tokimi Mikamoto to the arena, please."

As one the two combatants left their benches on the front row and entered the arena. Both were dressed in Ra Yellow uniforms, but that's where the comparisons ended. The young man, obviously Simon, had sandy brown hair, while the young girl, Tokimi, had long, dark green hair that hung straight down and then flared out at the bottom end. Simon wore thick glasses over his dark blue eyes, and Tokimi had dark brown eyes and no glasses. Simon was a few inches short of six feet, and Tokimi had to be at least six inches shorter than he was.

Once they both stood in the squares on the floor marking their positions, they activated their duel disks and both pulled five cards free, and Simon then grabbed a sixth. Looking his cards over, he was startled when Tokimi spoke. (TLP:4000)(SLP:4000)

"Before you try anything, I have a card to play." she called out. Simon was about to voice his objection and the obvious violation of the rules, but she cut him off. "You're a senior here and you've never heard of a card activating from the deck? Well, here it is for you. It's call Cast Into the Abyss and it activates the instant the duel starts. Both players may select up to fifteen cards in their deck and remove them from play. For every three cards removed that player may draw one card." she explained as the magic card was ejected from her deck and she slipped it into a magic zone. Then she pulled out her deck and fanned it out, quickly finding the cards she wanted. Then, as an afterthought she added "Any card that activates an effect from out of play may not be chosen."

Immediately after Tokimi had explained the card, Kazuki's head began to spin, realizing the potential to such a move. _'In a standard forty card deck, a player will start out with thirty-five cards in their deck after drawing this opening hand of five cards. Then down to thirty-four after activating Cast Into the Abyss. If they remove the full fifteen cards, then they drop their hand down to nineteen cards, and then down to fourteen after drawing five cards from Cast Into the Abyss's second effect. Finally, after drawing their first card for their turn, they would have shaved their deck down to barely over one quarter of its full size! Amazing!'_

Fanning out nine cards with their backs facing Simon, Tokimi tucked them into her back pocket. Once that was out of the way she pulled three cards off of the top of her deck, giving her eight in hand, and she hadn't even taken her first turn yet. Eyeing him impatiently she finally asked "Are you going to remove any cards?"

"Oh!" Simon started at her sudden question. "Um...no, no I'm not." he answered, looking back down at his six cards. "Can I continue, please?" Sighing loudly, she nodded. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Simon's personality seemed to do a one-eighty as he suddenly stood up straight and raised the level of his voice as he chose a card. "I summon Virtue Hero-Reverence (1100/900) in attack mode!"

A figure appeared on his field dressed in green clothing that seemed to be some sort of light armor, both protective and allowing for freedom of movement. The head was covered by a similarly colored helmet with a white mask covering the entire face, except for two small holes for eyes, which allowed for emerald light to show through for eyes. Also strapped to his back was a long curved sword, shaped like a katana but with a much larger blade, and so the base of it was dulled with a second grip, making it a two-handed weapon.

"While this monster is in play, all Virtue Heroes gain two hundred attack points, including himself." Simon explained as the green eyes flashed brightly for a second as the mans attack points rose to thirteen hundred. "I also set one card face down and end my turn."

From his seat, Eizan sighed heavily, his annoyance obvious, earning him curious glances from all the other teachers. Once they saw who it was, many of the older teachers understood and turned back to the duel, but Katsu stilled seemed oblivious, and so he asked "What is it?"

His head still hanging slightly, Eizan explained, his tone very somber. "In all my years as a teacher, I have never been more frustrated than I am with Simon Reddington. He's from a Eurpean family of old money, so he's never had to strive for anything in his life. When he got to the academy, he was admitted into Ra Yellow, and so began a downward spiral for him. Dayu became a sort of in-direct mentor for him. He never drew out Simon's full potential, and so now Simon struggles greatly. You may recall how I told Dayu that he was no teacher because he lets his students pass without any real work on anyone's part. And now, because of that, Simon is still only a middle-ranked Ra Yellow, even though he'll be graduating at the end of the year."

Back in the arena, Tokimi had just drawn from her now much smaller deck, increasing her hand size to nine, nearly twice the normal starting size. Looking the cards over, a mischievous glint in her eyes, she grabbed one up and slapped it down into a monster zone. What appeared was a a long, sleek machine, obviously a flying ship of some sort from a science fiction movie. "This is Victory Viper XX04 (1500/1000). And I'm going to use it to play my magic card, Gradius Missile, allowing me to skip the attack of a Gradius or Victory Viper to instantly destroy one monster on your field."

The tip of the flying device opened up, revealing a missile launcher. With a puff of smoke, the missile discharged, soaring through the air and crashing into the green-armored hero, resulting in a small explosion.

"Also, Gradius Missile allows me to activate my monster's ability as if it had destroyed your card in battle. When that happens I get to choose one of three effects and activate it. I'm choosing to create a Victory Viper XX04 Option Token (1500/1000), which inherits all of the stats of my monster."

Next to her monster appeared a red cylinder, rather small compared to the fighter jet. However, that would soon change, as the cylinder shifted around and expanded, finally turning into an exact copy of the monster she'd summoned earlier.

Now down to six cards, the normal number a duelist would have on their first turn, Tokimi didn't seem at all interested in slowing down as she grabbed another card from her hand and slipped it into a magic zone. Mysteriously, her Victory Viper XX04 vanished, as did the copy of it. What appeared in their places were two new fighters, though their armor wasn't as thick or as detailed, and the one on her right didn't have as many weapons, though the one to her left had at least twice as many.

"The magic card, Victory Viper Downgrade, sacrifices a Victory Viper on my field and allows me to summon two new Victory Vipers of a lower rank from my hand. Since I sacrificed an XX04, I got an XX03 (1200/1000) and an XX01 (1800/600)." she explained, showing her hand which now consisted of just three cards now. "Also, you're probably wondering where my Option Token went. Well, when the Victory Viper or Gradius used to create an Option Token leaves the field, the token is destroyed. However, with my Downgrade card, any Option Tokens lost in the sacrifice have half of their attack points added to my life points." (TLP:4750)

Gabbing another card from her hand, she slipped it into a magic zone and an enlarged image of the magic card appeared on her field. Everyone watching quickly noticed the infinity symbol in the upper right corner, meaning it was a continuous magic card. "Victory Viper Attack Formation increases the attack points of all my Victory Viper, Gradius, and Option Tokens by two hundred for each one in play." she smiled wickedly as both of her monsters rose by four hundred points. "And guess what, I get to attack now. Victory Viper XX03 (1600), Victory Viper XX01 (2200), attack his life points directly!"

Rotating their laser canons to focus on Simon, both ships began to charge their attacks. If they connected, Simon would be down to a mere two hundred life points, and it was only Tokimi's first turn!

At the same time, both ships let loose their attacks, striking Simon head on. Doubling over in pain, Simon clutched his chest, grimacing. Taking a minute to breathe deeply through clenched teeth, he let his lips tug up into a bit of a grin. "Activate...face down card...Nutrient Z!"

Surprised by this, Tokimi watched as the trap card resolved. She, and just about anyone else in the room understood the power of the trap card, increasing his life points by four thousand before damage was dealt because the attack of his Victory Viper XX01 had been over two thousand. (SLP:4200)

"You gained a net total of two hundred points. Nice." Tokimi noted as she looked at her two remaining cards in hand. "I play the magic card, Optional Wingmen!" After the magic card had clicked into place in the duel disk, many of the spectators, Kazuki included, were surprised to see two new copies of her monsters appear on the field. "This card is useful when I need some Option Tokens, but you don't have any monsters to destroy. Each Victory Viper that dealt life point damage to you but did not destroy a monster this turn gets an Option Token as if it had destroyed a monster!"

"And since she has two new Options on the field, as well as Victory Viper Attack Formation..." Kazuki muttered under his breath, trailing off when the holographic displays of her monsters stats came up, showing that each one had gained four hundred more attack points.

"I think that's enough damage for one turn." Tokimi laughed light-heartedly, fanning herself with her one card in her hand. "I'll be in Obelisk Blue in no time."

"Not if I can help it!" Simon called back, drawing a card forcefully. Rising to his full height, he sucked in a much air as he could through his nose, then slowly exhaled through his mouth, looking somewhat more relaxed as he did so. "Time for a quick restart, so I play Reload to shuffle my other four cards into my hand and then draw four new ones." Shuffling the cards into his deck, he pulled the new hand of cards free, glancing continuously from those he now held, up to Tokimi's field, then Tokimi herself, then his cards, then his deck, then Tokimi's field again, then at the cards in his hand...

"Stop fooling around and just make a play!" someone in the audience suddenly shouted. Simon, who had been busy looking around and so he was easily started, jumping into the air and letting loose a squeaky "yelp!" However, rather than speeding him along, it simply evoked a howl of laughter from the audience as a whole, causing Simon to cast his gaze down to the ground in frustration.

"I'll show you!" he suddenly shouted, surprising even himself, bringing an abrupt halt to the laughter as he snapped his head up, grabbing a card in the same motion. "I set three cards face down," he did so, a large image for each card appearing in front of him. "And then I summon a monster in defense mode and end!"

"Draw!" Tokimi called even before Simon was finished saying "end". "Alright glasses boy, I'm playing the magic card, Life-Slashing Treasure to draw until I hold five cards." she called, drawing four more cards from her already thin deck. "I summon Gradius (1200/800) in attack mode!"

The monster she summoned was perhaps the most simplistic of those she had played thus far, it's body smooth and shining, meaning it had very thin plating. The forward part of it was split down the middle as well, a few gun turrets visible in the space between the two halves.

"Next is Gradius Manufacturing, allowing me to sacrifice monsters on my field to summon that number of Gradiai from my hand or deck. So I sacrifice both of my Option Tokens to summon the other two Gradiai." The moment she finished speaking, her deck spat out the two cards she needed, which she placed onto her duel disk on either side of the first one. Snatching another card from her hand, she rammed it into another magic slot and another permanent magic card image appeared. "This is Gradius Limitless Options, which I'd explain, but I prefer to give a demonstration of how it works instead."

Fiddling with one of her remaining two cards, she finally snapped it around, displaying the image for Simon to see. The picture on the magic card was split into three pieces, one showing a Gradius and then a form of light above it in roughly the same shape as the jet. The second image was of a two-barrel cannon strapped to the bottom of some platform. The final image was of what looked like a solar panel.

"Gradius Power-Up is one of my more devious cards in my deck strategy. It allows me to summon one Gradius Option monster from my hand, deck or out of play for every Gradius I have in play. Gradius Option are just like Option Tokens, only they're actual cards. Also, I am allowed to equip each Gradius with a Solar Leveler and a Cyclone Laser, also both from anywhere that they might reside." she explained, pausing for dramatic effect, a truly wicked, yet very playful grin on her face.

Simon continued to look at her quizzically, not sure what she was getting at. Kazuki, on the other hand realized what she was implying, and his eyes grew wide with shock. It was all coming together very suddenly!

When Simon did not respond in any way to Tokimi's words, she sighed and reached behind her back, returning it with the nine cards she had removed at the very beginning. Turning them around and fanning them out, Simon gulped when he saw that, arranged into groups, there were three identical magic cards, then three identical effect monsters, and then another three identical magic cards.

No one said a word while Tokimi slipped the cards into her duel disk, all six of them...

"That's cheating!" someone suddenly shouted from the stands. "That would mean that she has eight magic cards and eight monsters on the field, when the maximum is five each!" With the tension broken, other members of the audience began to murmur their words of protest, agreeing with what had been said. Eventually, Pegasus himself stood up and lifted his arms, calling for quiet.

"Allow me to explain." he coyly smiled. "Because of Tokimi's card combination she has made a completely legal move. Her magic card, Gradius Limitless Options, makes it so that Option Tokens and Gradius Option monsters do not take up monster zones." This explanation was met with a variation of responses, but for the most part the people seemed to accept this, though he still hadn't explained the magic cards. "Also, Gradius Power-Up states that the equipment cards she plays with its effect do not take up magic or trap zones. As such, she still has three empty magic slots, though her monster zones are indeed full."

"Thanks, Mr. Pegasus." Tokimi smiled brightly.

"My pleasure." he responded as he returned to his seat.

"You didn't have much of a life when you were a kid, did you?" Kaiba more so demanded than asked as Pegasus crossed his right leg over his left and relaxed.

"Oh, what makes you say that, Kaiba-boy?"

"Video game based cards?" Kaiba questioned. "You must have played that game through most of your childhood to still remember enough about it later on to make the cards."

"Oh Kaiba, you silly little boy. I didn't play_ Gradius _until I had already begun putting Duel Monsters into circulation. It's actually a very riveting story. Want to hear it?"

"No."

Pegasus, however, didn't seem to hear Kaiba, or he had just asked so as to be courteous, since he promptly started into a monologue. "I had decided to take a break from making the cards, a vacation from work, if you would, but the weather at my island was so horrendous that I simply couldn't partake in my usual activities, which included sunbathing while reading Funny Bunny, or watching Funny Bunny on tape (The DVD hadn't been released yet, but I did make a note to order my companies legal division to look into acquiring production rights for such a task the day I got back to work)."

"I couldn't bare to do anything related to my furry friend while it was storming outside; it just didn't feel right. For Funny Bunny, it needs to be sunny and quiet outside, a reason why I normally read it at the island, where there are fewer distractions."

"Either get to the point or shut up." Kaiba threatened.

"You have no taste in art, did you know that Kaiba-boy?" Pegasus commented, raising his eyebrows with a bemused look. "Anyway, I do digress. In my dispair I decided to try and come up with some new game ideas, whether for Duel Monsters, or maybe some new games. But no matter how hard I tried to focus, the harsh sounds of the wind or the clap of thunder or dancing of the rain continued to interfere with my thoughts. So, I decided to sit down and play some video games, and the first one I picked up with called _Gradius_. It was a simple game, just the task of flying through space in a two-dimensional world, blasting as many enemies as you could. And that is just what I needed. A simple task, but one that would engage my mind in some creative capacity, to give me the kick-start I needed."

"As a tribute to the miracle that enabled me to continue with Duel Monsters, the game that had been a ray of hope when I was in the depths of writers block, which had pulled me from the deep of unhappiness, I created a special set of cards just for it."

As Pegasus wrapped up his story, Kaiba shifted his eyes over to the side, a smug smile on his face. "You're a very sad man, you know that?"

Back in the arena, Tokimi was explaining her new cards now that the audience had been pacified. "Cyclone Laser powers up my Gradiai by three hundred points and trample, while Solar Leveler is a bit more interesting. When the Gradius equipped with Solar Leveler attacks a defense mode monster, its attack points are set to one hundred more than the defense of the target monster. Nothing amazing, yet very useful all the same. Finally, anything I do to enhance the power of my Gradiai will also be done to my Gradius Options."

Eyes wide, the crowd watched as the attack points of her monsters rose, not to mention the fact that she now had her own small fleet of eight monsters, powered up by various equip cards, plus her Gradius Attack Formation.

"Gradius (3100/800), attack his defense mode monster!" Seconds after the command was issued the twin lasers mounted to the bottom of one of the Gradiai swivelled around for a moment, locking onto Simon's defending monster. In a burst of light it fired two blue lasers, incinerating the card and then firing a second small blast at Simon himself, though because of Solar Leveler it wasn't too much. (SLP:4100)

"Activate trap card, Virtue Signal!" he shouted above the roar of her monsters engines and the ringing of the explosion. "Like any other Hero set, this card allows me to special summon a Hero pertaining to this set from my deck. However, unlike other Signal trap cards, Virtue Signal allows me to special summon any level five or lower V-Hero, whereas others would limit me to a level four or lower."

From his deck popped a card, which he snatched up and slapped down onto his duel disk. What appeared was a figure in gray and black armor, light in design much like the previous monster, but with a decorative leather mantle draping over both the front and back. In his hands he held a short-handled scythe with a chain reaching out of the handle and a heavy weight with prongs on the other end, which he held in the other.

"Virtue Hero-Loyalty (2200/2200)!"

"There's no way he can stand up to me!" Tokimi shouted back.

"You don't quite understand." Simon called. "Virtue Hero-Loyalty gains three hundred attack points for every V-Hero in play, as well as one hundred for every V-Hero in my graveyard."

"Twenty-seven hundred doesn't even hold a candle to my Gradiai or Gradius Options and their thirty-one hundred points, let alone my other, stronger Vipers." Tokimi smiled, though she did shift her eyes over to Simon's set cards, an expectant look in her eyes.

Just as expected, another of Simon's set cards revealed itself, this one a quick-play magic card. "I play Reward of Valor, which activates when one of my monsters gains attack points, and allows me to draw three cards." Quickly he did so, drawing three cards. Finally, his third set card revealed itself. "Hero's Rule 3 Five Fighters allows us both to special summon as many level four or lower monsters from our hands as we can. Your field is full, so you can't, but I can." he explained, slapping all three of his new cards down.

First of his new monsters was a man in light blue armor and wielding a trident. "Virtue Hero-Faith (1400/1900)!" Next was a man in light brown armor with a single sword at his waist. "Virtue Hero-Obedience (1500/1700)!" Finally, a man in dark blue armor with a bow made of gold appeared. "Virtue Hero-Wisdom (1600/1300)!"

"Now their effects kick in. Faith powers up all V-Heroes by four hundred points, and Wisdom does the same, only three hundred. Then Obedience gains another three hundred for every V-Hero in play, plus I now have three more to add power to Loyalty!" he explained as a variety of bright auras appeared around his monsters, intermingling and increasing their various attack scores by varying amounts.

"You've got spunk kid. I end." Tokimi smiled as she put her last card face down, much to everyone's shock. Instantly they broke out into a flurry of questions, everyone wanting to know why she had let him off the hook, despite the fact that she could have mowed him down right there and then.

"My turn?" Simon asked. Then, after a moment he considered everything else she'd said. "KID!" Huffing, he drew a card. "I don't need your pity. I can fight just fine on my own."

"That's not why I forewent my attack. I was impressed by how well you assembled that army, and I want to see how you use it. It wouldn't be any fun otherwise." Tokimi smiled, adding in a wink at him, catching Simon off guard.

"Whatever." he shot back, finally looking at his new card and beginning to smile. "Tokimi, would you like to know why I use Virtue Heroes? Let me tell you. When I was a kid, I was always fascinated by any story about any kind of hero. Comic books, fairy tales, cartoons, and anything else. Now, most kids my age liked the same stuff because they enjoyed the action. But for me...for me it was the mythology of the Hero that I loved. The ideal of the chivalrous knight or the honorable samurai. The determined champion fighting for his pride. That is what I love about heroes, and that is why I have counted myself amongst their ranks." As he explained, Simon found himself straightening up his body, his face becoming more determined and his mind clearer. All around him people in the crowd looked at him with looks of bewilderment and marvel at his declaration. Tokimi simply smiled.

"Cool story. I like your style, kid." she applauded.

"I'm no kid. In fact, I'm way ahead of you, first year. Go, Heroic Virtue-Charity! This allows me to draw one card for every V-Hero I have in play, so that's four!" he called, again replenishing his hand. "I play Need for a Hero which allows me to special summon any Hero card from my hand or deck in exchange for five hundred life points!" (SLP:3600)

With a beep, Simon's duel disk released a card from his deck, which he promptly placed into his final monster zone. The new monster was dressed in black armor and carried a staff which had a curved blade at one end and a bulb with three curved prongs on the other. "Virtue Hero-Justice (2500/1900)! And he's one of my favorites. First he powers up all Virtue Heroes I have by one hundred times their level. That's justice, after all, giving everyone strength depending on their seniority."

As he finished explaining tendrils of light extended out of the body of the new hero and into the other four, increasing the attack power of each one. Since it was a level seven, it gained seven hundred life points, while Loyalty gained five hundred and the others all grew by four hundred. Loyalty and Obedience then grew again by a further three hundred, since there was now another V-Hero in play.

"Nice!" Tokimi squealed as she looked at the now super-charged army of heroes which could now easily match her space ships. Yet, despite the situation, she seemed more thrilled than anything else.

"That's the way they are. They get stronger from having each other on the field, like any real team of virtuous heroes should." Simon declared, his tone reflecting the pride he had in his monsters. "Virtue Hero-Loyalty (5100), attack Victory Viper XX01 (3400)!"

Swinging the pronged end of his chain around rapidly, the gray armored hero built up speed before smashing said end into the ground, the chain seeming to extend infinitely. Seconds later there was a small rumbling in the ground, and then dozens of sprang out of the ground, flying in all directions around the target monster, effectively binding it in place, many of them doing damage as they punctured through its armor. Then, with a quick leap into the air the mantle-bearing hero raised his scythe and slashed down, splitting the star ship in half. (TLP:3050) Also, with its destruction, Tokimi had one less of her monsters on the field, so her Attack Formation card caused all of her monsters to lose attack points, though it was a nominal amount.

"Virtue Hero-Justice (3900), attack a Gradius Option (2900)!" Raising his staff over his head, the dark armored warrior released a battle cry that sounded like "For Great Justice" before slashing down, drawing scattered snickers from many students in the crowd, even as the carbon copy fighter was destroyed, again decreasing the attack points of the remaining monsters on Tokimi's field, as well as her life points. (TLP:2050)

"Obedience (4100), is next, and he's going to really lay it down, because not only does he get pumped up for every V-Hero in play, but I can also skip the attack of a V-Hero on my field to let him attack again. So he's going to attack three times now, first for himself and then again for Faith (2500) and Wisdom (2700)!" Unsheathing his sword, the intimidating form of the Virtue Hero closed in on Tokimi. With three lighting fast slashes, he cleaved the remaining two Gradius Options and the Victory Viper XX03 in half.

However, to Simon's surprise, the pieces of the three monsters instantly began to pull back together, appearing to have never been destroyed in the first place. Not only that, but Tokimi's life points hadn't changed!

"Before you can ask," Tokimi cut a stunned Simon off. He responded by pushing up his glasses, the weight of them having begun to pull them down the bridge of his nose in all of his excitement. "I activate my set card?-Gradius Shield. It comes into play with three counters on it, and I may sacrifice a counter to prevent the destruction and reduce battle damage to my Gradius, Options and Victory Vipers to zero."

"She could have used that card earlier on," Kazuki said allowed, though no one seemed to hear him. "But she let him destroy her monsters and lower her life points. Then again, he wasn't exactly thinking it through. If he had he'd have known to target her Gradiai first, since when they're destroyed it would destroy the Gradius Options, decreasing each of her monsters attack points by four hundred each battle instead of two hundred."

This sentiment was reinforced as Tokimi explained it to Simon, who looked absolutely furious with himself as he realized his mistake.

Over in the teachers seats, Kita leaned forward and asked Eizan "Why is she going easy on him?"

"Because she realizes that he isn't fighting at his best. However, she'll be disappointed when she realizes that Simon doesn't know how to fight at his best. He's managed to float through each year because Dayu made it so, pairing him against significantly weaker opponents."

"Also," Katsu decided to add. "She was impressed by the way Simon responded to being cornered the way he was. She let him force her into the same corner. Now she's going to show her power."

Back in the arena, Tokimi was waiting as Simon looked his remaining three cards over. Setting all three of them of them, he ended his turn, an abashed look on his face. Tokimi responded by drawing swiftly.

"First, my ?-Gradius Shield receives one counter for every two Gradius, Option, or Victory Viper I have in play. I have six, so that's three new counters." she commented as her continuous trap card's holographic image began to glow vibrantly. Holding up her single card in hand, she turned it around, revealing a green border. "Gradius Laser powers up all of my Gradius-related monsters on the field by five hundred, and even though it's only a normal magic card, the power boost will remain as long as these monsters do." Instantly a pair of thin barreled guns appeared on each of her monsters fronts.

"Now that evens things up a bit. Gradius Option (3200) will attack Virtue Hero-Faith (2500)!" Even before the command was completely issued, the new guns on the monster charged up and fired, combined with the two beams from the laser gun mounted on the bottom of the fighter. The light blue hero tried to use his trident as a barrier, but was still easily overwhelmed by the blast. (SLP:3400) Now, without Faith on the field, all of the remaining V-Heroes also lost four hundred attack points each.

"Now my second Gradius Option (3200) will attack Virtue Hero-Wisdom (2400)!" Another blast of four lasers was released, incinerating the dark blue hero. At the same time, it dropped the attack points of the remaining Heroes by three hundred since Wisdom was no gone, taking his power boost with him. (SLP:2600)

"Next the Gradius (3200) whose Option you destroyed last turn will attack your Virtue Hero-Justice (3200), destroying them both!" This time, rather than firing an energy attack, the space jet burned to life, shooting across the field and ramming into the black hero, but at the same time being impaled by his bladed staff. In an bright explosion, both monsters vanished from sight.

Since both monsters were now gone, Tokimi's remaining monsters now lost two hundred points, while Simon's two remaining monsters lost a number of points, dependent upon their levels. Not only that, but now that three V-Heroes were gone, both Obedience and Loyalty had lost a total nine hundred points each from their own effects, though Loyalty did still get three hundred more from the new Heroes in the graveyard.

"I'm going to activate my Heroic Virtue-Sacrifice!" he called as his trap card flipped up, revealing the image of a man in some sort of costume or uniform with a cape stood in front of a similarly dressed man, arms outstretched to the sides as a sword was brought down on his shoulder. "During this turn I get to draw two cards for each V-Hero destroyed in battle. That's three so far, so I get six cards!" he said as he drew the new cards.

"Fun stuff. You hold in there, and I like that." Tokimi encouraged. "However, let's see if your life points can keep up. I order a Gradius (2900) to attack Virtue Hero-Obedience (2100)!" Firing a set of four lasers, the star jet easily overpowered the now weakened hero, destroying him and taking another large chunk out of Simon's life points. (SLP:1600) Not only that, but now without another V-Hero in play, Loyalty lost three hundred more attack points, though he then promptly gained one hundred because another V-Hero had entered the graveyard, setting him at an even three thousand.

"Oh..." Tokimi suddenly squealed. "I must have miscounted. I forgot that your Virtue Hero-Loyalty gains one hundred points for every V-Hero in your graveyard." she nervously laughed while rubbing the back of her head. The audience face fell again for the first time since the duel between Ami and Miyako. "I guess that means I can't destroy him this turn, huh? Well, I'll switch all of my monsters to defense mode and that'll end my turn, since I don't have any cards left in my hand."

"Before you end," Simon called, pointing to his set card on his left. "I activate Heroic Virtue-Chivalry, which returns all V-Hero monsters destroyed this turn back to the field during the end phase!" As he spoke, the four destroyed monsters returned to his field, and again their attack points sky rocketed.

Drawing a card, giving him seven to Tokimi's zero, he smiled with a cocky grin. "I set three cards face down," he began, giving him four set cards on the field to back up his super-charged army. "Next I'll have Obedience (4100) attack three times, once for himself and again for Wisdom (2700) and Faith(2500) in order to destroy your Gradiai, and thereby your Options, as well as Victory Viper XX03!" he shouted as the brown armored fighter drew his sword and charged in. Slashing swiftly, he was startled when barriers appeared to intercept all three of his attacks!

"You forgot about ?-Gradius Shield having three counters on it, so I used it to block all three of my monsters." Tokimi explained, and Simon again looked taken aback, obviously having indeed forgotten about the trap card.

"Well, I can still have Loyalty (5100) and Justice (3900) take out your Gradiai!" he shouted as the scythe and staff both cut through their intended targets. Folding his four cards back up, Simon ended his turn. Tokimi drew.

"I play Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we hold six cards." she called, activating the card instantly. Simon drew two cards, ands he drew six.

Looking her new cards over, Tokimi seemed to be thinking something through. After a minute her face split wide with a grin, and she grabbed at one of her cards. "It's been a fun duel Simon." she said, fiddling with the cards. "But it's gotta end. I'm only sad that you didn't try harder so that it could last longer."

"What are you talking about?" Simon demanded. "I've been trying my hardest, and it's because of that and the power of my Virtue Heroes that I now control the field."

"You only think that you do." Tokimi smiled back, taking her card and setting it into a magic zone. "!-Gradius Mega Crush activates if I have a Gradius or Victory Viper in play, which I do, and it then destroys all of your monsters or all of your magic and trap cards on the field. I'm going to destroy all of your set cards."

Soaring into the air, her Victory Viper XX03 was engulfed in light. Pulling back, it did what could be considered a back flip for a jet, leaving a trail of light in its wake. Then it surged toward Simon's field, shooting past his monsters and smashing into his set cards. The resulting explosion shook the entire arena, and when the dust had cleared, all four of Simon's set cards were gone, and Tokimi's ship had returned to its place at her side.

"Next I play Gradius Extra Man to special summon a Gradius card from my graveyard, so I revive Victory Viper XX01 (1800+400/600)!" she called, the detailed star fighter appeared on her field, guns at the ready. "I'll follow that play up with my Gradius Konomi Code, which needs a Victory Viper or Gradius in play to activate, and it allows me to pay fifteen hundred life points to take three cards from a list that includes Victory Viper Attack Formation, Gradius Missile, and a few others, from my deck or graveyard and add them to my hand. I'm choosing three cards from my deck." she explained as he life points dropped and she fanned her deck out, which now had only about seven cards in it. Grabbing the three cards she wanted, she shuffled the remainder up and returned them.

"All three cards are known as Power Capsule, which can only be activated if I have a Victory Viper XX03 in play. I have one in play, but it wouldn't matter, since all of my Victory Vipers are treated as being an XX03. Anyway, it allows me to activate one of its effects, and I'll use all three to generate three Option Tokens of my XX01 (1800+1000/600)!" she called as she played all three of the searched cards and three new copies of the larger, stronger star ship appeared.

Taking another card from her remaining three, she played it and the most familiar magic card appeared, the grinning green pot. "Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Doing so, she now held four cards. "Next is Renewal of the Triplets to special summon all three of my Gradiai back to the field from the graveyard." All three lightweight ships appeared, further increasing the power of her army, and for the first time since Tokimi made her declaration, Simon looked worried.

"And now it's time for the mother ship!" Tokimi called, holding one of her cards out from the others. Then, with the same hand she picked up her Victory Viper XX03, XX01, and three Gradiai and placed all five into the graveyard. "I summon Gradius-Ultimate Victory Viper (?)!"

The newest ship was, to say the least, an intimidating piece of machinery. It hovered in the air above Tokimi, it's shadow eclipsing three quarters of the entire arena. Its armor was obviously thick, shimmering in the light. There were various decorative aspects of it in the way it was designed as well. Finally, the armaments...it had at least sixty laser barrels all around it!

"This monster's attack and defense points are equal to the number of Gradiai and Victory Vipers sacrificed to summon it times seven hundred, so it now inherits thirty-five hundred attack points, plus eight hundred more from Victory Viper Attack Formation!" To say the least, Simon gulped.

"But the Option Tokens should have been destroyed when the Vipers were sacrificed..." Kazuki mumbled to himself. Then realization struck him. "Unless when summoned, all Option Tokens on the field change and become copies of Gradius-Ultimate Victory Viper!"

Startling even himself when he said this so loud, Kazuki clamped his hands over his mouth embarrassed, his eyes shifting around as people began to look at him. Tokimi, however, smiled up at him and nodded.

"He's right." she said, redirecting herself at Simon. "All three tokens are now changed from Victory Viper XX01 Options to Ultimate Victory Viper Options." she explained as the three tokens began to shift around and their shapes finally came to a halt, perfectly mimicing the behemoth of a ship she now had, only much smaller versions. "And Gradius-Ultimate Victory Viper has one more effect. When summoned, I get to activate his effects a number of times equal to the number of times the cards sacrificed to summon it did. Since I used three Power Capsule's, that counts as three times. As such, I create three more Ultimate Victory Viper Options! However, it's still not enough. I want a full fleet of monsters, and so I play Gradius Recycling, which lets me remove any monsters from my graveyard with 'Gradius' or 'Victory Viper' in their name and create an Option Token on my field of a Gradius or Victory Viper currently in play!" she shouted, placing her hand against her graveyard, which began to shoot cards out into her hand.

Holding up all the cards, she fanned them out for all to see. "Three Gradiai, three Gradius Option's, Victory Viper XX01, Victory Viper XX03, and Victory Viper XX04!" she named as she shoved the cards into her back pocket and nine smaller versions of the massive monster above her appeared all around it. All told, it meant that Tokimi now had sixteen monsters on the field, each with a base attack of thirty-five hundred, plus another thirty-four hundred from Victory Viper Attack Formation!

"This, Simon, is what I meant when I said trying your best!" Tokimi shouted as Simon looked up at her monsters, his body seemingly paralyzed. Taking one of her two remaing cards, Tokimi activated it. "And now, the final touch! United We Stand! It powers up the equipped monster by eight hundred for every monster I control, and I'm equipping it to Gradius-Ultimage Victory Viper! And don't forget that anything I do to him get's added to all of his Option Tokens!"

Ludicrous was the only way to describe the seen. Tokimi now controlled a massive fleet of sixteen monsters, each with an absurd attack power of nineteen thousand and seven hundred attack points! Brought together, it would equate to more than three hundred thousand attack points!

"Gradius-Ultimage Victory Viper (19700), attack Virtue Hero-Justice!" Simon didn't move at all, completely frozen in place as the juggernaut of a monster charged it's weapons...

And then vanished.

Blinking in surprise, Tokimi remained in place, arm extended and pointing at Simon. Both field were suddenly clear, and Simon was still standing, petrified.

"Um...what happened?" she finally asked, eyes still blinking wide in confusion.

"So sorry, truly I am." Pegasus said, rising to his feet. "However, I'm afraid that such an attack with the holograms could be both fatal to Simon, as well as everyone else here. Not only that, but it would probably short circuit the power."

"So...did I win?" Tokimi asked.

"Of course. I'd say that was rather undeniable. Crangradualtions and entering Obelisk Blue." Pegasus smiled down.

Simon still did not move.

Seeing this, Pegasus motioned over his shoulder and his assistant pulled out a cell phone and barked some orders. A few minutes later some men in white coats and a stretcher came in, picking Simon's catatonic body up, placing him on the stretcher, and wheeling him away.

As they carted Simon off, one of them spoke into his own phone for a moment. Pegasus's assistant, know by the name of Croquette, closed up his phone and approached his employer, whispering something in his ear. Pegasus responded by breaking out into hysterical laughter while the audience at large looked at him, confused and horrified that he could laugh in such a situation.

After a few minutes he regained him composure and explained, "I'm sorry, we'll need to wait a few minutes. It seems Sir Reddington had a bit of an 'accident' and we can't continue until the arena has been sanitized." he explained, earning a wide spectrum of looks from people, including disgust, horror, amusement, confusion, and many more.

Tokimi, however, simply remained in the arena, oblivious of everything else as she danced around chanting "Obelisk Blue! Obelisk Blue!"

XXXXXXXXX

Ten minutes later the arena was clean, Tokimi had returned to her seat (though she was still quietly singing to herself), and it was time for the next match. Rising to his feet, Pegasus spread his arms out wide and smiled widely.

"My children, it has been an amazing day. However, it will soon be coming to a close. Only two more duels remain. Sadly, we've come across an unexpected problem. The duel that was set to go next had one of its competitors fall ill today. Without him, it we miss out. As such, I have spoken with your principle, and we have come up with a solution. One student will be chosen at random to face off in the next duel. If they succeed, then they will be handsomely rewarded by I2!"

With this explanation, Pegasus had ensured that a maximum level of tension had been set. Just about every student in the audience now locked their gaze on the large screens above the arena used to project enlarged images of the field to people in the stands. Now it was being used to show a montage of student profiles that zipped by at lightning speed. Everyone wanted the chance to duel and be indebted to by Industrial Illusions...

Finally, the images on the screen began to slow down, though for a while they were still going by too fast for anyone to distinguish anything. At this time, Pegasus chose to speak again; "Katsuya Seikai from Obelisk Blue, your opponent will be..." The images finally stopped.

Eyes narrowing, Eizan and Katsu glared at the screen and the image it displayed, though Eizan's was softened by the bemused grin he had on his face.

From his seat, Kazuki stared, eyes wide. He couldn't believe it.

"Katsuya, your opponent will be Kazuki Katsura from Osiris Red!"

_To Be Continued..._

HOLY MONKEYS OF DOOM AND PERIL! That's a lot of attack points!

Wow...I don't know what I could say to follow that duel up. I mean, seriously! That was NOT my original plan! But as I was getting to the final move, I realized just how doable it was, and so I decided to go for the uber-kill.

To fans of Hero decks, I apologize. However, that Gradius deck is just so combo-crazy that it was a struggle just to keep Simon alive as long as I did. Besides, the Gradius deck kicks ass, that it does, and Simon went out with a bang.

Anyway, the V-Heroes are my own creation, as are the Heroic Virtue cards and Heroes Rule 3 Five Fighters. It was a deck I was already toying with making, and when Gearfried the Iron Angel submitted Simon to me, it was too easy to make it work.

The Gradius deck is by G.O.T. Nick, though Tokimi was made by myself. I also made a bunch of the Gradius cards (mostly the special Token generating cards) and I changed the effect of ?-Gradius Shield. However, the base idea was Nick's, as well as the vast potential for such an outrageous combo. Plus the uber-cool combo of Cast Into the Abyss is his, since he made that card as well.

Seeker of the Soul, finally, provided Renewal of the Triplets.

Also, none of use owns the rights to the game _Gradius_. That'd be those guys over at Konami. Nor do I own InuYasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, then they wouldn't have been as good as they were.

Anyway, next chapter should be interesting, ne? Possible plot thickening? Your damn right!

_Next Time-Kazuki has been brought into a duel against Obelisk Blue student Katsuya Seikai, a vicious and powerful duelist. Kazuki, despite his past trials, is ready and willing to fight back with his all, and maybe even earn a it of respect finally, as well as make a name for himself. But what is Pegasus after?_

_Next Time-Light at the End_


	8. Light At the End

Everyone, of all the chapters thus far written, this is probably now my favorite one. This is one kickass duel, if I do say so myself. Originally it was supposed to be about a quarter the length it turned out to be. It just kept on going! It's another one of those chapters that sort of writes itself. Not only that, but this chapter is almost all dueling, plus a tiny bit of commentary at the end. That's a lot of dueling, let me tell you.

Anyway, I'm gonna shut up now and let you guys read.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Eight-Light At the End**

"_My children, it has been an amazing day. However, it will soon be coming to a close. Only three more duels remain. Sadly, we've come across an unexpected problem. The duel that was set to go next had one of its competitors fall ill today. Without him, it we miss out. As such, I have spoken with your principle, and we have come up with a solution. One student will be chosen at random to face off in the next duel. If they succeed, then they will be handsomely rewarded by I2!"_

_With this explanation, Pegasus had ensured that a maximum level of tension had been set. Just about every student in the audience now locked their gaze on the large screens above the arena used to project enlarged images of the field to people in the stands. Now it was being used to show a montage of student profiles that zipped by at lightning speed. Everyone wanted the chance to duel and be indebted to by Industrial Illusions..._

_Finally, the images on the screen began to slow down, though for a while they were still going by too fast for anyone to distinguish anything. At this time, Pegasus chose to speak again; "Katsuya Seikai from Obelisk Blue, your opponent will be..." The images finally stopped._

_Eyes narrowing, Eizan and Katsu glared at the screen and the image it displayed, though Eizan's was softened by the bemused grin he had on his face._

_From his seat, Kazuki stared, eyes wide. He couldn't believe it._

"_Katsuya, your opponent will be Kazuki Katsura from Osiris Red!"_

Swallowing hard, Kazuki continued to stare at the enlarged image of himself up on the screen, displaying his dorm, rank, year, and other trivial bits of data. That in and of itself wasn't his problem, though. No, his mind was on very different matters.

It just didn't seem fair! Why did _he_ have to duel an Obelisk Blue?

While he did not leave his seat, he did notice a young man in a uniform that was blue and white, and equal amount of each color, meaning he was a second year. He was tall, probably about six feet or so, and...blue hair? No, that didn't seem right, because it was too smooth and tight against his scalp to be hair. He carried himself with an air of dignity, though his face showed a bit of a grimace, not that Kazuki could clearly make out any features.

"Kazuki Katsura, please come on down!" Pegasus's voice chimed over the speakers.

Still Kazuki did not move from his seat. However, many student around him began to realize that the Osiris Red sitting in their midst was the same one as on the monitor, and so they began to try and encourage him to go as well with various lines such as "Get going." or "They're calling you, you know."

"Kazuuuuki..." Pegasus said again, adding a bit of emphasis to his words. "Where arrrre you?"

After a few more minutes, a loud sigh could be heard from the arena, and Katsuya could be seen with an irritated look on his face. Seconds later he began to tap his foot on the ground lightly, each moment of contact resulting in a ring in everyone's ears, and within just a few seconds had become very annoying.

Finally, one of the students sitting near Kazuki, another Osiris Red boy who was behind him, grabbed a pencil, leaned forward, and lightly jabbed Kazuki in the back...

"Agh!" he yelped, hopping to his feet and reaching behind to massage the spot where he'd been "attacked".

"Ah, there he is!" Pegasus practically sang, pointing up at the slightly wincing Osiris Red.

It took Kazuki about three seconds after he stopped rubbing his back to realize that everyone was now looking at him expectantly. Grimacing nervously, he looked around, unsure what to do...until the same Osiris Red from before poked him again, prodding him towards the steps. Now out in the open and already on his way down, Kazuki sighed, though his face still revealed that he was quite nerve wracked, and began his descent.

Less than a minute later he arrived in the arena. Now that he was much closer, he realized something: Katsuya was the boy he'd met earlier that week just after his run-in with Rangiku Mitsuhoshi. The one who had told Kazuki that Rangiku was the number one duelist at the school. Not only that, but now Kazuki could tell that Katsuya's hair wasn't blue, but was infact bound underneath a blue bandana, a small tuft of black hair poking out of the back and fanning out on either side of his neck. He also wore blue gloves now, the fingers removed halfway up and the base of each glove cut at an angle.

Pulling his deck out of his pocket Kazuki looked around questioningly. Katsuya responded by raising an eyebrow before asking "What is it, kid?"

"I don't have a duel disk." Kazuki responded, and Katsuya sighed again. Kazuki's problem was solved a minute later, however, when Torisuna, the Ra Yellow who had dueled earlier that day, approached the arena, removed his duel disk from his arm, slipped his deck out, and handed it to Kazuki, who accepted it gladly. Inserting his shuffled deck, Kazuki turned around to face the Obelisk Blue, who sighed again. (KLP:4000)

"What a buzz-kill. I was supposed to duel the current third place duelist in the school and take his place." he said, his disappointment evident. Lifting his head, and at the same time his duel disk, he reached for his deck and thumbed his cards until he felt only five in his grasp. "But, a duel is a duel. Can't be helped, can it?" (KyLP:4000)

"No, I guess not." Kazuki responded, drawing five times and then fanning his opening hand out. Breathing deeply, he decided to try and focus on what he'd learned so far, mostly from Professors Yoriyoi and Kiske. _'Forget about his rank. Just focus and give it your all. Even an underdog can topple a Goliath.'_

"Here we go kid. I'm going to show you exactly why I'm in Obelisk Blue!" Katsuya called, drawing a sixth card. "I summon End Slasher (1700/1500) in attack mode!" A warrior, completely black both clothing and skin, and wielding a thick bladed and silvery sword appeared. "And that'll do it for me."

Kazuki sweat dropped. Katsuya had made it sound like he had some sort of great play all set, and all he had done was summon a monster. He hadn't even set a card! _'There's more too it. He's waiting for something, but what? A card in his deck? No, if that were the case he would have done some sort of card drawing or stall technique.'_ Examining Katsuya closely, he tried to discern what the older student was up to. _'Does his End Slasher have an effect that would hurt him or his field if it weren't alone? Maybe he drew a bad opening hand and is just trying to get me all worked up...gotta stay calm. Alright, here I go!'_

Shaking the weird feeling off, he drew. "I summon Ancient Mystic (1700/1000) in attack mode to match your End Slasher!" he called, a man in gray robes appearing, shifting his fingers around into various different symbols. "Next I set two cards face down and end."

Smirking as he drew, Katsuya wasted no time in grabbing a card from his hand and turning it around, displaying a green bordered card. "I play the ritual magic card, End of the World!" Taking another of the cards he had held in his hand last turn, he turned it around, showing a brown bordered card. "This is my Ruin-Warrior of the End (1400/1500), and when I use her in a ritual to a light-type ritual monster, she counts as double her level, making her a level eight monster for the ceremony; just what I need."

Slipping the monster card into his graveyard, Katsuya slapped the card he had just drawn onto the plate of his duel disk, the holographic image of a card with a blue border appearing for a second before flashing with light as the monster emerged from it.

With a smirk rivaling Katsuya's a tall and extremely slender woman walked out onto the field. She had dull white hair which hung down to her ankles in the back while a few scattered locks up front reached down to her mid torso. Two large crimson fins arched up from her head, being attached to a small cap of the same material placed over the back half of her head. A top of the same deep red was what was used to cover her top, but barely. It was sleeveless and a large diamond shaped opening exposed her stomach (which was actually very well toned and muscular when compared to the rest of her thin body) while a long black cloth hung from the girdle over the front and back of her legs. Finally, elbow-length gloves covered each arm, and in her right hand she held a red weapon reminiscent of a spear, only the head was extremely wide and split like a double-bladed axe.

"Meet one of my favorite monsters, Goddess of Extermination-Ruin (2300/2000)." Katsuya introduced. "And when I summon her by sacrificing Ruin-Warrior of the End, she gains an additional seven hundred attack points." Eyes wide, Kazuki watched as an emerald aura flowed freely around the goddess, her smirk growing wider as her attack points came to a rest at three thousand.

"That's...bad..." Kazuki finally murmured.

"You have no idea, squirt." Katsuya responded. "Goddess of Extermination (3000), attack his Ancient Magician!" Hefting her weapon without any trouble the woman gave it a few experimental slashes at the air before grinning with satisfaction. Turning her attention on the older mage, she lifted it over her head, preparing his attack. The elder man didn't react in the slightest.

"Activate trap card, Mirror of Confusion!" Kazuki called as his trap card flipped up, displaying the image of a Marauding Captain slashing at a large mirror, his sword sinking into its surface and then extending out behind himself. "This card forces your attack at a monster on your field, so you're going to destroy your own End Slasher."

Undaunted by the young mans words the woman in red continued with her attack, slashing diagonally down, leaving a line barely visible in the mirrors surface. Then, as the top half of the mirror began to slide down, so did the top half of Katsuya's black fighter, his sword also having been cut in half. Despite the loss of both his monster, as well as a decent amount of life points, Katsuya didn't seem at all bothered. (KyLP:2700)

"Heh, it doesn't make any difference to me, twerp." he explained to Kazuki. "First off, when End Slasher leaves the field, he takes the top card of your deck as well." Kazuki grimaced as a spectral hand reached out of his graveyard, grabbed the top card of his deck, and pulled it into the cemetery. "But also..." Katsuya trailed off as, to Kazuki's shock, the woman in red spun her weapon above her head rapidly and then slashed horizontally, cutting his monster in half at the waist. "When Goddess of Extermination-Ruin destroys a monster in battle she is then allowed to attack again. All you did was save yourself from losing this turn." (KLP:2700)

"Now I play the continuous magic card known as Contract Revisions, but it's kinda moot right now." Katsuya said, the large holographic image appearing to his side. "That should do it for me."

As Kazuki drew again, his thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the audience. "Take it too him, Old Man Seikai!" Confused by these words, Kazuki looked around, wondering who was being addressed.

That, however, would be answered when Katsuya called back "Act your age, not your shoe size!" Shaking his head in irritation, Katsuya waited for Kazuki to make his move. He didn't really care for the nickname, he just didn't like how playful some students got about using it.

Shrugging, Kazuki returned himself to the duel and drew, giving himself four cards and one set, while Katsuya held two cards, but controlled the field with his pumped up goddess, plus his mystery magic card. Glancing at his own cards, Kazuki smiled.

"I play Ancient Curse, which will instantly destroy your monster." he explained as the gaudy woman suddenly shriveled up with wrinkles, her hair becoming thin and faded. Seconds later she crumbled into dust, vanishing completely.

"Well, you took care of that faster than I expected." Katsuya responded, an air of amusement in his voice. "But don't get too far ahead of yourself. You've just activated my Contract Revisions card's effect. When a ritual monster is sent to the graveyard I get to take one of the monsters I used as a sacrifice and summon it to the field." Taking the card that his duel disk supplied him with, Katsuya slapped it onto his field, a woman much like the one just destroyed, only younger and her clothing was a brighter shade of red, her hair only hanging down to her mid back, in each hand holding a half-moon shaped blade, and faded white wings extending out of her back appearing. Crossing her arms over her chest, she fell into a crouch, a sideways image of her card appearing underneath her. "Ruin-Warrior of the End (1400/1500). Since she's the only one I used in the sacrifice, it makes the choice easy, doesn't it?"

Growling in frustration, Kazuki looked back to his hand of cards. Already his plan had come to a halt. "I play Graceful Charity to draw three and discard two." he continued, quickly glancing the new cards over before shoving two into the graveyard. "Next I summon Ancient Illusionist (1600/1500), who gains one hundred more attack points for every card in my graveyard. I've got five now, so that's twenty-one hundred attack points."

Across from him, Katsuya merely smiled, seeming completely unworried about the might of Kazuki's monster. Then again, currently Kazuki only had that one monster to pit against his one defending monster, so there really wasn't any need to worry.

"Ancient Illusionist (2100), attack Ruin-Warrior of the End!" Kazuki shouted, his monster complying by holding up his arms and firing a blast of light from his open palms, vaporizing the target.

"My turn." Katsuya called as the light faded away. "I set a monster in defense mode and end." he smiled as he made yet another unextraordinary play.

Cautiously, Kazuki drew. _'Again he just summoned a monster. Not only that, he doesn't seem worried at all, even though I already managed to destroy such a powerful monster.'_ Looking at his new card Kazuki tried to stop thinking about it. _'Focus. Focus! Don't get so worried just because of his rank or his attitude. I have control right now, and I'm going to beat him with these cards.'_

"Ancient Illusionist," he called after he added the new card to his hand. Then he paused as he watched Katsuya. _'He still isn't worried. Maybe his monster has some sort of effect? That's got to be it! His End Slasher had an effect that activated when destroyed, and then his Contract Revisions did the same when I destroyed his ritual monster. Even his Ruin-Warrior of the End had an effect that activated when it went to the graveyard, though that was as part of a ritual.'_

Folding his hand of cards up, Kazuki cleared his throat before declaring "I pass."

Smirking, Katsuya drew, giving himself three cards, even with Kazuki. "I play Treasure of Hell, so we both draw from the bottoms of our decks until we hold six cards." Both players did so, Kazuki drawing three cards and Katsuya drawing four.

"Heh, you didn't attack? You should have." Katsuya said, reaching for his monster. "I flip summon Caller of the End (600/800), who lets me place a card with 'End' in its title into my hand." Fanning his deck out, he quickly found the card he wanted and then shuffled the remainder up and returned them as they were. "Next I summon End Craftsman (300/700) to the field, who lets me take an End of the World card from my deck and add it to my hand." he continued to smirk as his duel disk popped the card out of his deck and into his waiting fingers.

Adding the new card to his hand, Katsuya grabbed one of his other seven cards and played it, a magic card image appearing on the field. "Theme of the End sacrifices all monsters on the field and gives each player one thousand life points for each monster they lose. I have two, but you only have one." he declared as one by one the monsters on the field exploded into showers of light, which then flowed into their individual duel disks, raising the life points of both players. (KLP:3700)(KyLP:4700)

"Now let me introduce you to the other half of Armageddon!" Katsuya called as he grabbed the card he had most recently added to his hand and the image of End of the World appeared. "I sacrifice Demise-Warrior of the End (1500/1500) from my hand for this ritual, and as you may have guessed he counts as double his actual level when used in a ritual summon of a dark monster. Also, because of the monster I have chosen, it will gain six hundred extra attack points!" Slipping the card into his graveyard, Katsuya grabbed the card from his hand which he'd retrieved from his deck thanks to Caller of the End.

The new monster was...frightening, to say the least. He stood about eight feet tall, covered in heavy black armor with ivory plates over the shoulders and elbows. If the size of the armor was any indication, the wearer was very large and muscular, with massive pectorals. Clasped in his hands was a heavy battle axe.

"This is King of the End-Demise (2400+600/2000), and he's going to finish you up nice and quick." Katsuya introduced. "However, because I used Theme of the End this turn, I don't get a battle phase. So, I'll just set a card face down and that'll be it for me."

Breathing in relief, Kazuki drew a card, giving him seven in hand. As he looked at the card, though, a thought struck him. _'If he hadn't used Theme of the End, he could have attacked me. That means he needs life points for something, but what?'_

"I'll summon a monster in defense mode, and then I'll set two cards face down to end my turn." Kazuki declared as two face down card images appeared on either side of the card he had set at the very beginning while the horizontal monster card rested a few feet ahead of them.

Nodding, Katsuya drew a card, though he did not take the time to look it. Instead his eyes were focused on the large monster on his field, his confidence in its destructive prowess radiating throughout the entire field. Then, tilting his head forward with a dangerous smirk, he explained in a rather cut throat voice, "Time to use Demise's effect. I pay two thousand life points to destroy all cards on the field except for him." (KyLP:2700)

As Katsuya's life point meter dropped nearly in half, the colossus of destruction lifted his heavy weapon, the edge glowing with a black energy. Swinging down with all of his might, he released ten streaks of black light in all directions, some going off harmlessly while others found the monsters and other cards on the field and cut them in half. Kazuki simply watched in horror as his field was cleared and the massive warrior sized him up.

"King of the End-Demise (3000), attack his life points directly!" Not moving from its current position, the warrior in the unholy armor slashed horizontally, leaving a crescent of black energy in its wake which it flung at Kazuki, striking him in the abdomen and sending him crashing to the ground. (KLP:2700)

As the holographic life point counter for Kazuki appeared, showing that he still had over two thousand life points, a number of confused murmurs began to bubble throughout the crowd. After all, that meant that he'd only taken one thousand points of damage, one third of what it should have been.

"So that's it?" Katsuya commented not sounding surprised when the faded image of a trap card appeared to Kazuki's side. "You had Corrosion of Earth set for four turns and activated it just before my King's effect resolved, so you decreased his attack points by two. Not bad."

'_He doesn't fool around.'_ Kazuki winced as Katsuya explained the simple move aloud, mostly for the sake of the audience. _'He could have not played Theme of the End, thereby meaning I wouldn't have had enough life points to survive, but instead he used it to gain the life points needed to use that effect again, in case I had managed to chain with my set card.'_

"Well, that may not have been as overbearing as I had thought, but I still hold the advantage. Then again, with Demise now down to just one thousand life points I suppose I should do something to protect him, shouldn't I?" the Obelisk Blue grinned, taking a card from his hand and setting it face down, leaving him with four to use at a later date.

Snapping a card off of his deck, Kazuki tried to come up with something. Currently Katsuya's monster was weak enough to be destroyed without too much trouble, and their life points were even once again. However, Katsuya held the advantage as long as he had Demise on the field and more than two thousand life points. Then again, there was the potential threat, or at least obstruction, from the set card.

"I play the magic card, Search for the Lost, which allows me to search my deck for an Ancient card and place it into my hand." Fanning his deck out, Kazuki took a moment to find what he wanted, shuffled his deck up, and then set the chosen card down in a magic zone.

"Next I summon Ancient Spellweaver (1600/1400) and have it attack your Demise-King of the End (1000)!" In a flash, a red robed magician appeared, each finger alight with a mystical glow. Writing a few signs into the air, he clasped his palms together and a glowing symbol appeared on the ritual monsters chest plate. Wriggling in pain, he dropped his axe before falling to a knee and then collapsing to the ground and faded away. (KyLP:2100)

Blinking, Kazuki started with surprise. "You...didn't use your set card to stop my attack?"

"Of course not." Katsuya replied. "After all, if I had then my King of the End would still be at a low one thousand attack points. Didn't you notice that I kept him in attack mode? I wanted you to destroy him so that I could use this card..." he trailed off as his face down trap card flipped up. "Sacrificial Living special summons a ritual monster from my graveyard that was destroyed this turn. So I'll bring my King of the End back, and his attack points will be fully restored. Tough luck, young whippersnapper."

Biting back his fear, Kazuki watched as the monstrous being re-appeared, axe at the ready and his attack fully restored to the initial twenty-four hundred.

"Your monster may be back, but because my Spellweaver destroyed a monster, I get to either draw a card to place a card from my graveyard on top of my deck. I choose the latter." Kazuki finished as his graveyard ejected a card, which he slipped on top of the remainder of his deck.

"You're pretty good kid, I'll give you that." Katsuya said as he drew, giving him four cards. "But there's still a huge gap between the two of us. But don't feel bad. Because of the difference between us, even when you lose your rank wont be affected."

"You've got an awful lot of bark, did you know that?" Kazuki said back. Normally he wasn't one for rebuttals, but Katsuya was really starting to get on his nerves.

Katsuya merely shrugged. "Yes, but I can back it up. A mongrel dog that tucks its tail and runs away from battle without fighting should not bark!"

"No one here is going to run away." Kazuki replied, his tone even.

"Then let's do this." Katsuya half shouted. "I pay two thousand life points so that Demise can destroy all cards on the field except for himself!" (KyLP:100)

Raising his hefty weapon above his head, the emissary of destruction charged more of that dark energy of his before striking the ground, lifting up a huge wall of earth and power (despite the fact that the arena floor was metal) which washed over Kazuki's field, once again clearing it.

"Next I'm going to summon my End Healer (1200/1000), but she'll vanish instantly as I play my Gift of the Ender to sacrifice her to gain her attack points, plus five hundred, as life points! Plus when Healer of the End goes to the graveyard I gain an additional eight hundred life points!"

A woman in blue garments much like Katsuya's deceased Goddess of Extermination had been wearing appeared. She also had golden hair instead of white, and in her hands she held a sapphire scepter.

Seconds after fully materializing, she dissolved into thousands of dots of light which flowed into Katsuya's duel disk and a holographic image of his life points rising appeared. (KyLP:2600)

"Now that that's out of the way, I can pay for my Fulfillment of Contract magic card, giving up eight hundred life points to special summon a ritual monster from my graveyard to the field. However, if one or the other goes to the grave, then the attached card is destroyed." he explained as the holographic card appeared to his right and his life points fell to eighteen hundred. However it didn't matter a great deal, as everyone knew what he would revive. It was the only ritual monster in his graveyard, after all. "I special summon Goddess of Extermination-Ruin (2300/2000) in attack mode."

Bracing himself, Kazuki eyed the two destructive monsters, a look of determination in his eyes, despite their power and his once again empty field. "There will be no attack from you this turn." he finally declared. "Once again I chained to your destructive effect by activating my Enchanted Relic trap card, preventing you from targeting me or my field for attacks this turn."

"Ah, so you were ready for me I see." Katsuya smiled. "Well, you survived longer than I would have expected from an Osiris Red. So, to end my turn I'll play the continuous magic card, Alliance at the End."

Drawing a card as the enlarged image of the continuous card appeared to Katsuya's left, Kazuki tried to think his options over. He'd only been planning on dealing with one of the ritual monsters, not both!

"First, I play the Ancient Curse card that I returned to my deck last turn, and I'll destroy Demise this time!" he called.

To his surprise, and most people in the audience, nothing happened to Katsuya's monster, and to their further surprise, Kazuki's magic card shattered!

Chuckling, Katsuya nodded to his new continuous card. "Alliance at the End is only useful while I've got both Ruin and Demise on the field. While that curriculum is met neither of them can be destroyed by card effects."

Grinding his teeth as this was explained, Kazuki looked at the other three cards in his hand. After a moment longer of hesitant thinking, he grabbed two of them and set one as a monster and the other as a magic or trap card.

Seeing that Kazuki didn't seem intent on making any other moves, Katsuya drew again, giving himself just one card in hand. To Kazuki's relief, Katsuya grimaced at the sight of the card. Although Kazuki didn't have a clue what it was, it was clear that it wouldn't increase Katsuya's life points, meaning he couldn't use Demise's effect this turn.

Placing the card in his left hand, Katsuya moved his attention to the field. "Ruin, attack his monster!" Twirling her weapon to her right-hand side, the destructive nymph picked up momentum before slashing down, her blade pausing for a moment once it hit Kazuki's monster...and then it bounced off! "What!"

"I activated another trap card." Kazuki explained, holding the card up. "Drain Shield negated your attack in increased my life points by the same amount as your monsters attack." (KLP:5000)

'_How clever of him.'_ Katsuya said to himself. _'He stopped Ruin from destroying his monster, and so she doesn't get another attack this turn. That means that I have to destroy his monster with Demise, keeping him safe and with a new stock of life points.'_

"King of the End-Demise, attack and destroy his monster!" With a low growl the armored denizen of death lifted his axe with both arms and swung down, both slicing and smashing Kazuki's monster at the same time.

Drawing to begin his turn, Kazuki tried to figure a plan out. He now had just two monsters in his hand, and he couldn't even summon one of them. He could use the lower leveled one to try and gain some leeway, but it would leave him wide open. Then again, if he just set it in defense mode then he'd suffer the full power of both Ruin and Demise next turn, since Ruin would destroy it and then go directly, as would Demise.

"I summon Ancient Sorcerer (1800/1300)." The new monster was taller than many of Kazuki's other monsters, dressed in red robes with black symbols printed in various patterns all over.

"Attack mode, huh?" Katsuya repeated, sounding mildly amused. "What's he going to do that'll allow him to battle against my bringers of the End?"

"Absolutely nothing." Kazuki responded. Katsuya raised his eyebrow in confusion. "He isn't going to battle. I'm going to use his effect, sacrificing him to permanently decrease King of the End-Demise's attack points by an amount equal to his own."

There was an audible clap as Kazuki's monster pressed his palms together and then touched his fingertips to the symbols on his clothes, causing them to glow light blue for a moment before the monster completely faded away. Once he was gone a swirling pillar of black light formed all around Demise, who howled in agony for a moment before dropping to a knee, once again weakened.

"I end my turn." Kazuki spoke, his voice holding a sense of conviction, even though his field was now empty. Nodding, an unsure look in his eyes, Katsuya drew.

"I play Card of Sanctity, so we both draw until we hold six cards. That's five each." he began and both players whipped the new cards off of their decks. "Next I will set one card face down and play my Emergency Provisions card to sacrifice it and my Fulfillment of Contract to gain two thousand life points. However, because if Have Alliance at the End in play, Ruin cannot be destroyed, even when Fulfillment of Contract is destroyed." he declared as a face down card image appeared in front of him and then shattered, followed by the green bordered card behind his goddess. (KyLP:3800)

"I'll set one monster in defense mode, and then I'll have Goddess of Extermination-Ruin and King of the End-Demise (600) both attack you directly!" Lifting their weapons high, both of Katsuya's dangerous monsters charged across the field. First to attack was Demise, who slashed straight down, which, if a real attack, would have cut Kazuki in half. To avoid this, Kazuki tried backing away, but lost his footing in his rush and fell onto his butt. Next Ruin attacked, this time using the spear-like shape of her weapon to thrust at Kazuki, but not actually hitting him since he was out of the range of the holographic imagers. (KLP:2100)

"I switch Demise to defense mode and end my turn." Katsuya finished, satisfied with his move.

Kazuki winced as he rose to his feet and then drew a card. Upon seeing it, his eyes lit up to such a point that it was noticeable by his opponent, despite the distance between them.

"Katsuya, I'm going to take control of this duel right now!" he called. "First I set three cards face down, and then I play Card Destruction. Discard your hand and I'll do the same and we'll both draw three cards." With a curious look on his face, Katsuya did as he was told to and both duelists drew new hands of four.

"Now I'll activate the first of my set cards, Magic of Revival to special summon a magician from my graveyard. I choose the monster that I drew at the beginning of this turn, Ancient Mage (2700/2200), in attack mode!"

Eyes wide, Katsuya watched as Kazuki's most powerful monster appeared on the field, it's black robes billowing and it's golden staff at the ready. For some reason, as Katsuya looked at this monster, he began to feel, for the first time all duel, a sense of fear.

"My other set card, Power of the Ancients, which will increase Ancient Mage's attack by one thousand for as long as he's on my field." Kazuki pressed on as a crimson aura surrounded his monster, increasing his power to thirty-seven hundred.

"Now it's time for battle, and since you have more monsters on the field than I do at the beginning of the battle phase, Ancient Mage can attack all of your monsters during the course of this turn." the black haired youth explained to his older opponent. "Ancient Mage (3700) attacks your King of the End-Demise first!" Extending his staff forward, the magister released a crescent of light which dissolved the target monster on impact. "Next is your defense mode monster." Pivoting on his feet, the magician aimed at the horizontal card, which was sliced in half by the attack.

"Before you continue," Katsuya interupted. "The monster you just now destroyed was another Caller of the End (600/800), so now I get to place a card with 'End' in its name into my hand." Fanning his now very small deck out, it only took Katsuya a few seconds to find the card he wanted, which he added to his hand and then signaled Kazuki to continue.

"And before I continue I'd like to explain to you that whenever Ancient Mage destroys a monster, another monster on your field is dealt three hundred points of damage. I've destroyed two now, and I've directed all six hundred points at Ruin." the younger of the two said as the woman in red suddenly put a hand to her chest and began to breathe heavily, sounding very winded.

"Ancient Mage, attack Goddess of Extermination-Ruin (1700)!" With a quickly flourish, the black robed man aimed at the woman of destruction and fired an x-shaped blast, shattering her instantly. (KyLP:1600)

"Turn end."

"Draw!" Katsuya nearly shouted. "That was amazing, Kazuki. I applaud such an awesome attack. However, that was your last one. Go magic card, End of the World!"

Upon hearing the card name, Kazuki's eyes widened in fear as Katsuya slid a card into his graveyard. What appeared on his field, though, was neither Goddess of Extermination-Ruin nor King of the End-Demise. It looked similar to Ruin, as had many of Katsuya's other monsters. It was obviously female, with ebony black hair which hung in the exact same fashion as Ruin's. She wore a black top with a red cloth over her legs in front and in back, as well as a red cape hanging down her back, reaching the base of her spine. In her hands was a black spear with a handle that was barely longer than her arm.

"Princess of Extermination-Ruin (1700/1400)!" he introduced, much to everyone's surprise. The new monster was just as weak as Goddess of Extermination-Ruin had been when Kazuki had destroyed her last turn. Obviously, Katsuya didn't seem worried about this, though, as he grabbed another card from his hand and placed it into a magic zone.

"Shrink will cut your monsters attack points in half."

The magician on Kazuki's field began to shrink rapidly until it was barely taller than the waist line of either duelist. Now it's amazing attack points of thirty-seven hundred had been reduced to a par of eighteen hundred and fifty. Still, it was stronger than Katsuya's monster.

"Think I can't beat it?" Katsuya grinned in his usual cocky manner. "I play Ritual Weapon, powering up my level four ritual monster by fifteen hundred attack points!" he continued as a scarlet aura surrounded the black haired woman on his field, nearly doubling her attack points.

Kazuki gulped.

"Princess of Extermination-Ruin (3200), attack Kazuki's weakened Ancient Mage (1850)!" Literally vanishing from sight, the female monster appeared seconds later behind Kazuki's monster, her entire body in a passive stance. After a few seconds of tension, Kazuki's mage shattered and his life points took a steep drop. (KLP:750)

"And Princess of Extermination-Ruin has the same effect as her more powerful form, meaning she gets to attack again now that she's destroyed a monster in battle." Katsuya explained.

"No she doesn't." Kazuki responded, extending an arm out over his final set card, which revealed itself to be a pink bordered trap card. "Lost Skills removes the effect from one monster on your field, so now you just have a really powerful monster."

Because she no longer had her effect, the monster at Kazuki's throat gave a feral snarl and then returned to Katsuya's field in a flash. Kazuki, needlessly, breathed deeply with relief.

"I set one card face down, and end my turn." Katsuya declared, leaving himself with just one card in his hand.

Drawing, Kazuki quickly began to turn his options over in his head. Sadly, he didn't really have much in terms of options.

"I summon Ancient Saint (1500/1300) in attack mode. And he powers up all Ancient monsters on my field by four hundred!" he called as the man in white robes appeared. "Next is the magic card, Ancient Technique, powering my monster up by the number of magic cards in the graveyard times three hundred! I have six, so that's eighteen hundred added points!"

Everyone in the arena watched in awe as Kazuki's monster nearly doubled in strength, coming to a stop at thirty-seven hundred, even with what Ancient Mage had been at one turn before. "Ancient Saint, attack and destroy Princess of Extermination-Ruin!" Pressing his palms together and muttering a prayer of some sort, the magician gathered the needed energy. Spreading his arms out to the sides, a ring of light appeared around his target and then filled up with magical energy, incinerating her. (KyLP:1100) "End."

"Draw!" Katsuya called, the force of the pull causing his body to tremble so much that his bandana came undone and fell to the floor. "This is the end! This turn decides it, because if this fails then I will lose."

"I accept!" Kazuki shouted back, ignoring the sweat on his face. It was the first time he'd ever been in such an intense duel, and he didn't quite know what else to do or say.

"Pot of Greed!" Katsuya called, beginning his actual move. Drawing two cards, he instantly activated the one card he'd been holding since his last turn. "Ender's Renewal to revive Princess of Extermination-Ruin (1700/1400). However, she may not activate her effect while on the field after being summoned by this card." In a flash of light the black haired mistress of destruction reappeared.

Setting another card down, Katsuya played the last card that he held. "Twilight Renewal to draw five new cards since my hand is empty." Doing so, he fanned the new cards out. Then he pressed a button on his duel disk and the card he had just set flipped up. "Magic Shard Excavation to discard two cards from my hand to then play a magic card from my graveyard. I choose End of the World one last time."

Taking two cards from his hand he placed them into his graveyard, which then released the magic card he wanted, which he promptly played.

"I sacrifice Princess of Extermination-Ruin to summon Prince of the End-Demise (1800/1400)!" he called as the maiden on his field faded away and was replaced by a smaller version of the black armored warrior from earlier, brandishing a hammer in place of an elegant axe.

Again, Kazuki gulped.

"Here it is, Kazuki Katsura! This younger version of Demise isn't as overwhelming as what you have faced before, but he will end it just the same. I pay one thousand life points to destroy all monsters on your field!" (KyLP:100)

Raising the mighty weapon above his head, the miniature juggernaut gave a mighty battle cry before bringing it crashing down, the shockwave of the impact blasting Kazuki's monster and shattering it.

"Prince of the End-Demise, attack Kazuki's life points directly!" Katsuya shouted. With a grunt, the black armored warrior lumbered across the field and swung its hammer at Kazuki, striking him in the chest and knocking him back onto his butt with a light 'thud'. (KLP:0)

Wincing in pain, Kazuki rubbed his now soar backside.

"Here, let me help you with that." a voice spoke from above him. Looking up, Kazuki was surprised to see Katsuya leaning over, arm extended. Taking the outreaching palm, Kazuki used the older boy to help hoist himself to his feet.

Brushing his uniform off, Kazuki wiped some sweat from his forehead, and for the first time noticed that the crowd was cheering madly. Letting a weak smile show, he turned to Katsuya.

"Amazing duel." he said. "I could have sworn I had you."

"You almost did." the Obelisk Blue replied. "Many times. But, I could say the same thing. But, in the end I won, and that's all that matters, right?"

Frowning, Kazuki shook his head and stepped off of the elevated arena, heading towards the stairs so that he could return to his seat.

Watching Kazuki leave, Katsuya gave a light grin and mumbled in a low tone that only he could hear, "They were right. He's good. He's really, really good."

XXXXXXX

"He lost again." Kita said aloud from her seat in the teachers section. "But once again he nearly won. It's almost like the skill of his opponent doesn't matter. He keeps on getting close, but never seems to be able to go all the way."

"That's exactly it, that it is." Eizan said, his tone seeming even, but his lips twisting into a smirk. Turning to Katsu he said "I think it's about time to get going, that I do."

Nodding, the Ra Yellow head rose as well, smoothing out his blazer. Normally he didn't wear the dorm coat, but this was a semi-formal occasion, so he felt in some ways obligated to. Leading the way, he left the other teachers, Eizan Kiske only a few steps behind.

XXXXXXX

Throughout the arena people where chatting excitedly about the several duels they'd seen. Each one had left them worried that those that followed would be rather dull in comparison. Now that they'd seen Kazuki verses Katsuya, it was doubtful that there could be a greater match.

"Ladies and gentle, it has been an amazing day." Pegasus called from his box. "But all good things must come to and end. However, I think that any spectacular even should end with a real bang. As such there's going to be a huge buffet dinner here on the island tonight, complete with fireworks, games, and everyone's favorite band, Millennium Seven, performing live!"

As he announced this, there was a massive uproar of cheering from the student body, as well as many teachers. After a few minutes of waiting, Pegasus lifted his hands as a signal for everyone to calm down.

"However, that's not the full extent of my genius planning. No, I have one final surprise for you. Like I said, everything should end with a bang. Although that means that we technically could have ended it after any one of these duels, I have one more slated for the day." A number of hushed whispers spread throughout the crowd, all wondering what he was talking about. After all, every single duelist that had signed up had gone. The bottom ring of seats were the competitors had been sitting was now empty. Finally, everyone looked back up to Pegasus, since it was obvious he held the answer.

"To make sure that we got to end on as amazing a note as possible, I spoke with your faculty, and two of your teachers have volunteered to give an exhibition match against three professional duelists which I brought here with me today." he grinned ferally.

Cheers erupted from the students for various reasons. For some it was because it was a promising match. For others it would be a chance to see their teachers against real pros, something any student would want to see. Others just wanted to see another duel. And still the list went on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Duelist Pro League's very own sibling team of Yusuke, Ukon and Shizuka Toria." Again cheers erupted as the easily recognizable duelists entered the arena from the west doorway.

As they came into full view, the flooring surrounding the dueling field pulled back and a larger ring, about ten feet wide, rose up all around the current field, expanding it greatly.

"And now, their opponents, you should all be very familiar with Professors Katsu Yoriyoi and Eizan Kiske!"

_To Be Continued..._

_To Be Continued..._

See what I mean? One seriously badass duel, that is. Then again, the next duel I'm hoping to be even better. I'm planning it to be so, at least. I've been waiting ever since I started writing this story to write the coming duel, so look forward to it. In truth, it's gonna be a very long duel, since it's five duelists. Right now I'm look at about fifty to sixty turns, which comes out to only ten to twelve turns a player. Funny how that happens, ne?

I would also like to thank Seeker of the Soul for making Katsuya and his deck. Totally kickass. For the first time I didn't have to make up a single card for a submitted OC. It was in some ways relieving. Original cards are as follows:

Katsuya (All by Seeker)- Prince of the End-Demise, Princess of Extermination-Ruin, End Craftsman, Demise-Warrior of the End, Ruin-Warrior of the End, Caller of the End, End Slasher, End Healer, Contract Revisions, Theme of the End, Treasure of Hell, Alliance at the End, Ender's Renewal, Twilight Renewal, Gift of the Ender, Sacrificial Living.

Kazuki- Ancient Mage, Ancient Saint, Ancient Technique, Search for the Lost, Lost Skills, Enchanted Relic, Power of the Ancients, Ancient Curse, Ancient Mystic, Ancient Spellweaver, Ancient Sorcerer, Ancient Illusionist, Mirror of Confusion, Magic of Revival (Seeker).

_Next Time-Pegasus has brought in professional duelists who have made names for themselves individually in the Duelist Professional League, but even more so famous for their awesome teamwork. Up against them are Katsu and Eizan. But can three against two be fair? All five duelists seem to think so. Now Katsu and Eizan, for the first time since either of them entered Duelist Academy as a teacher, choose to battle with their true decks, and with their true strength._

_Next Time-Professional Duel; Divine Duelists Pt. 1_


	9. Professional Duel Divine Duelists Pt 1

Here we go people. The beginning of what will probably be the longest, and my favorite, duel of this story. Note, although this chapter is shorter than the others, it's still intense, and it's a great precursor to what is to come. Enjoy!

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Nine-Professional Duel Pt. 1; Divine Duelists**

"_To make sure that we got to end on as amazing a note as possible, I spoke with your faculty, and two of your teachers have volunteered to give an exhibition match against three professional duelists which I brought here with me today." he grinned ferally. _

_Cheers erupted from the students for various reasons. For some it was because it was a promising match. For others it would be a chance to see their teachers against real pros, something any student would want to see. Others just wanted to see another duel. And still the list went on._

"_Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Duelist Pro League's very own sibling team of Yusuke, Ukon and Shizuka Toria." Again cheers erupted as the easily recognizable duelists entered the arena from the west doorway. _

_As they came into full view, the flooring surrounding the dueling field pulled back and a larger ring, about ten feet wide, rose up all around the current field, expanding it greatly._

"_And now, their opponents, you should all be very familiar with Professors Katsu Yoriyoi and Eizan Kiske!"_

Even from across the arena floor, Eizan recognized the three sibling duelists. They were known in the Pro League because they were deadly individually, but as a team, few had been able to hold out for very long, and even fewer had survived. They were also rather infamous in many peoples minds because many dueling fans felt that they hadn't earned their way into the League. Their father was on the board of directors for an oil company, so he sponsored them, rather than them going out and trying to find someone to back them.

To Eizan's right was Yusuke, the middle child. He was about six feet tall or so, with dark brown hair that was cut very short, almost short enough to be considered military regulation length. He wore black slacks and a red button up shirt, though it wasn't tucked in.

He was known in the pro league for being impulsive and chaotic, but normally it was revealed that he had an actual method to his madness, though it was very costly. He was really a laid back guy. There had been rumors that he'd even managed to gamble his way into debt a year or so ago and had needed to go to his father for support.

Between the two siblings was Ukon, the oldest. He had hair the same color as Yusuke, though his was longer and tied into a single braid down the back, reaching to his shoulders. He was actually shorter than the other two, about two inches between him and his brother. He wore tan slacks with a forest green shirt tucked in, as well as a golden pendant around his neck and...an earing in his right earlobe.

Ukon was know for being the most social of the three, having attended a number of social events of various social classes, gaining easy access thanks to his father's name. He had used his dueling title as well to assist a number of charities and other philanthropic endeavors. Also he was known for...certain activities with various women...

Finally, Shizuka was the youngest of the three, being two years Ukon's junior. However, by looking at her one wouldn't have guessed this, since she was taller than either brother. He also had dark red hair that hung straight down to her mid back, the last few inches curled lightly.

Of the three, Shizuka was the most liked. She had a kind attitude which seemed to radiate from her as she was constantly smiling. She also had the greatest duel record of them, having been defeated less only about fifteen times or so (Out of nearly two hundred duels) during her three years in the League. This was attributed to that fact that, despite her kind and gentle disposition, she was a very methodical duelist who tended to pin the enemy under her foot very quickly.

All at once the five duelists entered the ring and met in the middle. Taking their decks from their duel disks they extended them to one another, Katsu and Eizan first taking the decks of the two brothers and quickly shuffling them, and then Katsu shuffled Shizuka's as well. Once their cards were thoroughly randomized they each went to their own respective areas of the ring, activated their duel disks, and drew five cards each. (ELP:4000)(KLP:4000)(YLP:4000)(ULP:4000)(SLP:4000)

Once they were in position, Pegasus grabbed up his microphone once again and smiled ferally. "Since there are five competitors, they wont be going back and forth like they would with an even number of players. Instead, Eizan will go first, followed by Katsu, then Yusuke, Ukon, and finally Shizuka. And remember, no attackie on the first turnie!"

Once Pegasus had finished and taken his seat, Eizan lifted his arm up, reached for his deck, and drew a sixth card and added it to his hand. Taking the one to his left he set it onto his field horizontally and then placed another into a magic zone. "I set a monster in defense mode and one card face down, that I do. End."

Without a moments pause, Katsu grabbed at his deck and drew a sixth card. Keeping it separate in his right hand, he reached over to his other five and plucked the middle card from them. Slipping his draw card into a magic zone, he then followed up by placing the card from his opening hand onto his duel disk, horizontal. "Like my partner I also summon a monster in defense mode and set one card before ending my turn."

"Then it's my turn." Yusuke called excitedly, drawing. "Let's get things moving, shall we? I summon Templar Swordsman (1600/100) in attack mode."

The first monster actually summoned for the duel was a lean warrior in silver armor, a simple broadsword in his hands and a white shield with a red cross strapped to his back.

"I'll also throw in some face down action with these two guys, and end." he concluded, slipping two cards from his hand into the magic zones on his far left.

"Draw." Ukon said, his tone evenly focused, but a sense of anxiety still evident. "I summon Torrent Teutonic (1100/500) in attack mode, and then I set two cards face down. End."

In one fluid motion a warrior in silver plate armor and chain mail appeared, a sword at his waist and a white shield with a black cross on his left arm, while his right hand was holding onto the pole of a long banner which had the image of a surge of water on it. At the same time two face down cards appeared directly in front of Ukon.

'_So, it's true that they'll be using those decks.'_ Katsu pondered. _'Makes sense, since that's how they duel when they're in team matches. This wont be as easy as Eizan and I first thought it might, but at the same time they aren't too much for us to handle. And if they've already summoned the Templars and Teutonics, that leaves just...'_ he trailed off as Shizuka began her turn.

As she drew, Eizan and Katsu both waited expectantly, knowing what sort of monster she would summon, though unsure as to which it would actually be. Adding the new card to her hand, she chose the three to her right and set two of them face down before slapping the third onto her duel disk.

"Two cards face down, just like my brothers, and then I summon Paladin Dori (1500/1200) to the field." she declared as a man in golden armor with the image of a tiger etched into to breastplate appeared, his sword at the ready. "And Dori is known as the standalone paladin for a reason, because when summoned he gains fifteen hundred extra attack points, minus three hundred for every monster zone on my field with a monster in it, except for his own." she explained as her monster's attack points doubled, becoming an even three thousand, an amount made famous by Seto Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons, since for the longest time they had been the only cards with such amazing base attack power.

"And now the tension breaks." Pegasus lazily commented from his seat, tilting the microphone in close to his lips.

Grabbing a card from his deck, Eizan drew swiftly, giving him five cards in hand, more than anyone else currently held. Reaching for his duel disk, he flipped his lone monster over into attack mode and a woman with flowing golden hair reaching down to her legs appeared on his field, dressed in a golden gown with wings of a similar color spreading out wide from her back and three shimmering balls of light hovering around her.

"I flip summon Venus, Angel of Creation (1600/0). Now I use her effect to pay fifteen hundred life points to summon all three of my Holy Shine Spheres (500/500) from my deck to the field in defense mode!" (ELP:2500)

Everyone watching gasped in wonder as Eizan's life points were nearly cut in half and the three balls of light around Venus left their orbit of her and floated at her side. It didn't seem like a good plan to pay so many life points for such weak monsters, especially not so early in the game. However Eizan didn't seem at all worried about any of this as he grabbed another card from his hand and placed it into a magic zone, the first card he'd played from his hand that turn.

As the holographic image of the card appeared, though, his angelic monster clapped her hands together and looked upward as a light began to shine down on her. Flapping her wings once or twice she gained the needed lift and began to rise, disappearing into the light.

"The magic card Ascension allows me to sacrifice an Angel monster on the field to either special summon an Angel from my hand or deck of a higher level, or to special summon two Angels from my deck of equal or lesser level. I choose the latter effect, that I do." he explained as he took his deck from the holster and fanned it out like a large hand of cards. After a casual glance he found the cards he wanted, shuffled his deck, and placed the new monsters onto his duel disk, filling his monster zones.

First to appear was a man with dark brown wings extended up above his head and wearing light brown robes. A golden circlet wrapped around his forehead while his dark brown hair extended down past his shoulders. "Uranus, Angel of Good Will (1800/0)." Eizan introduced. Second was another male angel, this one with yellow skin and bright green eyes, while his hair was black and short cropped. "Pluto, Angel of Weakening (1500/0)."

"Angels?" Yusuke blurted out, his face twisted up as he tried his hardest not to laugh. "What're they gonna do, blind our monsters by glowing so much?"

"Yusuke, shut up." Shizuka said, turning to her older brother. Turning back to Eizan she bowed. "I apologize for my brother's rudeness. Please continue."

"I accept your apology, that I do." Eizan smiled back, adding in a small bow as well. "Now, Pluto, attack Paladin Dori (3000), please." The three siblings, along with most students in the crowd, were about to protest, since Dori was clearly twice as strong as Pluto. If the attack completed, then Eizan would be drained of three quarters of his life points, and all of his own doing.

However, all were halted as their jaws began to move when Eizan inserted another card from his hand into his magic zones. "Heavenly Glow negates all battle damage dealt to my Angel monsters and lasts until my next draw phase, that it does." A golden aura surrounded the five monsters on his field.

Flapping his wings and extending his arms the bright skinned angel began to emit an orange light from his arms. However, instead of offending the target monster, it actually seemed to sooth him. The armored warrior's expression softened and his stance shifted, becoming more relaxed.

"What did you do to him?" Shizuka asked, unsure of what to make out of her monsters behavior. Obviously it had done something, since Eizan had both hazarded the attack and he'd used an effective defense card to make sure it worked.

"Any monster that does battle with Pluto has Pluto's attack points reduced from its dominant stat. Since Pluto has fifteen hundred attack points, and your Dori had three thousand, Dori's attack points are reduced back to the starting amount of fifteen hundred, that it is." Eizan explained. "Now I will have Uranus attack your weakened monster!"

Extending an arm towards the target monster, Uranus began to emit waves of light which moved at a simple pace and seemed to have a gentle, soothing glow to them.

"Not so fast!" Yusuke suddenly shouted, extending an arm over one of his two set cards. "I activate my Attack Guidance Armor, allowing me to control who you attack." he called as heavy demonic armor suddenly appeared on his own Templar Swordsman. Upon seeing the evil armor, Uranus instantly shifted his focus to Yusuke's monster, who shattered under the pressure. (YLP:3800)

Despite the loss of his monster, Yusuke seemed please with himself for some reason. "Heh, now that you've destroyed Templar Swordsman he equips to your monster and during every standby phase it loses three hundred attack points."

After he finished explaining his monster's effect a blood-red cross appeared on the chest of the brown robed angel, whose smile suddenly faded slightly.

"Well done, that it was." Eizan congratulated. "However, even though you protected your sister, you did not stop Uranus. Since he destroyed a monster in battle I may search my deck for any Angel-related card and place it into my hand." Again fanning out his deck, Eizan found the card he wanted, re-shuffled his deck, and then quickly played the card he had searched out. "Song of the Faithful increases my life points by one thousand, plus another two hundred for every Angel monster on the field. I have five, so I gain two thousand life points total."

As one the two holy men on his field lifted their eyes upward and began to chant while at the same time an ominous sound resembling wind chimes seemed to emit from the three balls of light on the field. (ELP:4500)

"You paid fifteen hundred life points just to gain a net total of five hundred?" Ukon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Summoning the Holy Shine Spheres can serve a number of purposes, that it can." Eizan reassured. "However that is all I plan on doing for now. Katsu, it is your turn, that it is."

Without a word Katsu drew, giving him five cards. At the same time the red mark on Eizan's monster flashed a bright scarlet and he winced in pain, his attack points dropping to fifteen hundred, the same at Pluto.

Ignoring this, Katsu looked his new hand over and quickly calculated his move. "I summon Soldier of Excerion (1700/1200) in attack mode!" A man in shimmering silver armor appeared, a bright sword in each hand. "Soldier of Excerion, attack Paladin Dori!"

Swords held low and at his sides the warrior rushed across the field, surprisingly light on his feet as he quickly covered the distance. Raising a sword he prepared to slash down on the weakened monster.

"I activate-" Ukon began, but was quickly cut off by a sharp look from his sister. Removing his hand from the activation button on the right, Ukon watched as Shizuka's monster was cut to ribbons, though the damage she took was minimal. (SLP:3800)

Taking note of which card Ukon had moved for, Katsu watched the siblings for a minute to see if anything more would be given away. When he was left without any further information, he slid a card into his duel disk and it appeared face down behind his Soldier of Excerion.

"My move!" Yusuke called in his now familiar excited tone. At the same time the red mark on Eizan's monster once again flared to life and his attack points dropped again to twelve hundred. Smirking at the handy work of his fallen monster Yusuke quickly surveyed his hand.

"Alright, I'll go a bit simple this turn. I summon Templar Archer (1300/300) in attack mode, and then his effect will go off, draining Soldier of Excerion of three hundred attack points." A man in significantly lighter armor than his previous one, consisting mostly of very thin chain mail and a silver cape, a short bow in his hands and a quiver full of arrows on his back appeared. Reaching back and grabbing one arrow he knocked his bow, took aim, and fired, striking Katsu's monster in the shoulder.

"That's it for me. Your turn, Ukon. Make it a good one, cause I did my part." he said, turning to his brother. Smiling back, Ukon drew, and Eizan's Uranus dropped to nine hundred attack points.

"I summon Shining Teutonic (1200/2200) in defense mode. Then I'll have Torrent Teutonic attack Katsu's defending monster, since Eizan's angels are still safe until he goes next." Ukon declared as another soldier in silvery armor, this one hoisting a banner with the image of a ball of light appeared, crouching behind a heavy white shield with a black cross on it. At the same time his other monster placed his banner into his left hand and drew his sword. Charging in on foot he slashed down, cutting the holographic card in half. Seconds later the image of a man in silver ceremonial robes appeared, cried in pain, and then shattered.

"You've destroyed Priest of Excerion (0/0)," Katsu suddenly spoke, his tone hinting that it was good for him and not so much for their opponents. Seconds later his duel disk beeped and a card slid partially out from his deck, which he took and added to his hand. "When destroyed I get to take my key monster from my deck and place it into my hand."

Oddly, upon hearing this Ukon seemed to grow slightly nervous. Nodding to his sister, he folded his cards up and she began her turn.

'_Strange.'_ Eizan pondered as Shizuka looked her cards over. _'Yusuke isn't being as reckless as one would expect, based on his reputation. At the same time, Ukon worries me. Teutonics are a rush strategy, and comprised a great deal of monsters, as well as magic cards that allow even a small group to become extremely powerful. However, he thus far hasn't done anything to utilize this strategy, and he's still got three cards in hand. Normal rush strategies normally empty the hand almost instantly. They're holding back, but for what reason, exactly?'_

Before he could continue to analyze his opponents, however, Eizan was snapped back to the duel as Shizuka began her move.

"I summon Paladin Drevos (0/2500) in defense mode." A warrior in bright, heavy armor appeared, a shield that seemed to actually be made of light in his hands and held out defensively. "While on the field he doubles any power up a Paladin would receive. That means that my Dori returns to three thousand, but then goes down to three hundred since Drevos uses up a monster zone on my field." she explained as the golden armored warrior began to glow with a faint blue light for a moment, his attack points increasing dramatically.

"Dori (2700), attack Soldier of Excerion (1400)!" Lifting his sword above his head, the now very muscular knight charged across the field and slashed down at Katsu's monster, who responded by crossing his blades above his head for protection. However, the two thin swords, designed for swift attacks, were quickly snapped into pieces by the much heavier weapon which had the force of gravity adding to its destructive power, allowing it to cleave the warrior in two. (KLP:2700)

"I set one card face down and end my turn." Shizuka concluded as the card appeared behind her monster.

With a smile, Eizan drew. So far the duel seemed pretty even, but at the same time none of their opponents seemed to be trying very hard, which wasn't a good sign. Also, although Katsu had been able to use his Priest's effect, he was now behind in terms of life points, plus he had been the target of the enemy moves all last turn because Eizan's angels had been protected. He needed to make it up to his friend. However, with Uranus now down to just six hundred attack points, it wouldn't be as easy as he would have liked.

"I play Blessings to the Faithful, allowing me to use an Angel monster's effect, and if there is a cost of it needs a trigger it is free and treated as if the trigger were activated. In this case I will be using Uranus's effect to search for another Angel card and place it into my hand, that I will." he began, searching his deck quickly for the card he had in mind. Setting it face down he continued, "I set the searched card face down, and then switch Uranus and Pluto to defense mode, ending my turn." he said.

Taking his cue, Katsu drew, giving him a hand of five cards, one of which was the one he had referred to as his 'key monster'.

"I activate the magic card, Throne of Excerion. When activated this card goes to my graveyard, but the reason will be made clear in a moment." he said, placing the magic card against his graveyard, which sucked it in. However, to everyone's surprise a card then popped _out_ of the graveyard, which Katsu accepted and held up.

"I remove Priest of Excerion from the graveyard to special summon my key monster. However, I cannot use this the same turn that I used that Priest to search my deck for it." he explained as he pocketed the weak monster and then slapped the card from his hand down onto his field.

The new monster was a long, serpentine dragon with bright shimmering scales of silver. A silver mane flowed out of the back of its neck while four taloned limbs extended out of its body to serve as crude arms and legs. However, despite it's almost plain appearance, there was suddenly a very ominous feeling in the air as everyone looked upon it. Something about the creature demanded reverence and a sense of fear; maybe it was because of the shining sapphire flames that wreathed it's body, seeming to flow with the creatures will, or maybe it was because of the florescent lights in the stadium.

"Behold the Divine Dragon-Excerion (1500/900)!" Once the stats of the monster were displayed, many members of the audience face fell, while others shifted their feelings of reverence for strength into annoyance with the lights.

Again, Yusuke was unable to keep from bursting into laughter. "That's a level five monster, which you built a bunch of hype for, and it's only got fifteen hundred attack points!"

Katsu narrowed his gaze on Yusuke before continuing with his move, his tone still as cold as ever. "When summoned, Divine Dragon-Excerion allows me to activate one of its three effects for every other Divine Dragon-Excerion in my graveyard. However, I don't have any in my graveyard right now. Instead I have my Throne of Excerion, which counts as a Divine Dragon-Excerion while in the graveyard. Also, if I don't have any copies of the Divine Dragon in my graveyard, Throne of Excerion counts as one extra for each Divine Dragon-Excerion I have in play." he grinned, the first time just about any student had seen him do anything even remotely resembling a smile.

"Now then, since my graveyard is currently void of any Divine Dragons, an I have one on the field, my Throne of Excerion counts as two in the graveyard, meaning I can choose two of Excerion's effects to activate. Therefore I will increase Excerion's attack points by one thousand and give him the ability to attack a second time after he destroys a monster in battle." Katsu explained as his monster roared, it's attack power increasing to a much more impressive twenty-five hundred, regaining some of the respect it had lost from the spectators.

"Finally, while Soldier of Excerion is in the graveyard, all monsters on my field with 'Excerion' in their title receive an added three hundred attack points." Katsu finished explaining as his dragon's power came to a rest at twenty-eight hundred, making it the strongest monster in play.

"Now, before my dragon attacks, I still have not made a normal summon this turn." Katsu continued, pinching a card in his hand. "So I summon Brood of Excerion (700/400) in defense mode." A small silver lizard appeared, an obvious relative of the mighty dragon, though in no way majestic.

"Divine Dragon Excerion (2800), strike down Paladin Dori (2700)!" he shouted, the silver scaled leviathan roaring into the sky as it moved into an attack position. Rearing back its head it released a stream of shining blue flames which engulfed the target warrior and burned it to ashes. Then it lifted its head back again and prepared another blast of flames. "Excerion, attack and destroy Templar Archer!" Without pause, the dragon fired again, incinerating the lightly armored fighter. (SLP:3700)(YLP:2300)

Turning to face his partner, Katsu said, "I know it wasn't part of the original plan, but that little guy was too dangerous for the current period of the game."

"Not to worry, that you do not." Eizan smiled back. "You're just looking out for your Divine Dragon's best interest."

Nodding, Katsu turned to their opponents. "I end."

Drawing, Yusuke gave a nervous look at the other four duelists. He was now behind by a large margin, and control had completely shifted from him and his siblings over to the two teachers. _'No, that's not it at all...we never had control. They just haven't taken the offensive until now.'_

Growling in irritation, he then looked over at Eizan's field and smirked as Uranus, Angel of Good Will dropped to zero attack points, thanks to his Templar Swordsman's effect. _'At least that worked out well.'_

"I play Called to Crusade, allowing me to special summon a Templar monster from my hand." he called, playing the magic card and then slapping another from his hand down onto a monster zone. A man in golden armor with a crimson cross on his chest appeared, the signature white shield with a similar cross of the Templars on his back while he held two long swords in his hands. "Templar Swordsman (2550/900)!"

Taking another one of the cards from his hand, Yusuke set it face down, appearing parallel to the one he'd set hit first turn. Then, taking the last one from his hand he turned it around for everyone to see, the green border of an extremely familiar magic card.

"Mystical Space Typhoon on Katsu'a face down card!" he called as a spiral of wind launched from his field at the card set on Katsu's left.

Then, to everyone's shock, Katsu's lips twisted up in a small smirked as he snapped his fingers. Instantly Yusuke realized his mistake as the target card flipped up, revealing a trap card.

"Jar of Greed." Katsu called as the blast of wind hit the ground where the card had been previously. "This lets me draw one card from my deck."

'_A decoy.'_ Yusuke grimaced as Katsu increased his hand to three cards. "Alright, Templar Swordsman, attack Uranus (0)!"

As the dual sword wielding warrior charged across the field, swords held up in an x, Eizan's brown robed angel hung his head in despair, his smile completely gone now. Since his attack points were completely drained, he wasn't any use anyway.

Snapping his fingers, Eizan startled everyone when one of his set cards flipped up. "I activate Drain Shield to negate the attack and increase my life points by your monster's attack total, that it will." he explained for everyone as a light blue barrier appeared around him, halting the swords as the crossed in front of the monsters chest.

After a few minutes the struggle broke, Yusuke's monster leapt backwards, and the blue shield faded away, turning into a mist of the same color that flowed into Eizan's duel disk, drastically increasing his life points. (ELP:7050)

"I thank you very much, that I do." Eizan added as his life points were displayed for all to see.

Snarling, Yusuke ended his turn, allowing Ukon to make a move. Smirking as he drew his card, he added it to his hand and then grabbed another from the three he'd already been holding. "I summon Moonlight Teutonic (1900/900) in attack mode." A man identical to his previous ones, only with a banner displaying a full moon appeared.

"Next I sacrifice him to activate his special ability, summon two more Teutonics with fifteen hundred or fewer attack points from my deck." he smiled as the new monster vanished and was replaced by two more copies of the first monster he'd summoned, banners showing a wave of water. "Two more Torrent Teutonics (1100/500)."

Taking his newly drawn card, he slipped it into a magic zone, activating it. "Brave Attack, a card common to rush strategies, allows me to combine the attacks of all my monsters this turn for one big blast!" he explained as the card resolved its effect. As one his three attack mode knights lifted their swords, crossing the tips.

Pointing across the field, Ukon declared, "my three Teutonics have a combined attack of thirty-three hundred. Katsu Yoriyoi, they're going to bring your Divine Dragon down!"

Letting loose their battle cries, the three knights charged across the field, swords held high. In response, the large dragon seemed to actually scoff at them as it let loose its flames. Raising their shields, the three charging knights continued to press on, finally coming to the dragon and slashing wildly at him.

Finally, after much slashing by the knights and flailing and burning by the dragon, all four fell to the ground, motionless, and then shattered into pixels. (KLP:3500)

"With that, I end my turn." Ukon said, seeming pleased with himself as his sister drew. Now that Katsu's dragon was gone, he was vulnerable, and her Paladin's had the power to deal huge amounts of damage in one go, especially now that Drevos was on the field, doubling their natural power boosts.

"I summon Paladin Spierel (1800/1300) in attack mode!" Shizuka called without pause, a warrior in gold armor appearing, a faint blue outline surrounding him. "He powers up all Paladin's by three hundred, but that becomes six hundred with Drevos on the field." She smiled as the blue aura grew in intensity.

"Paladin Spierel (2400), attack Katsu's life points directly!" she shouted as her monster lifted his sword. Running up to Katsu, he slashed down...

"Activate face down card, Excerion's Descent!" Katsu shouted, as his trap lifted up. "This summons one Divine Dragon-Excerion from my hand to the field." he explained, taking the card he had drawn from Jar of Greed and slapping it down. Instantly his field was engulfed in light, and another silver scaled dragon appeared.

"Damn..." Shizuka sword under her breath as her knight leapt back from the fight, now outmatched by the dragon. Grimacing, she set a card face down, and ended.

Drawing, Eizan looked over at Katsu and smiled that ever-present smile of his. "Well Katsu, I guess it's gotten to that point, hasn't it?"

Turning, Katsu nodded. "Indeed, time to stop holding back so much. Time to show them the full wrath of the Divine Duelists!"

_To Be Continued..._

Ah, that was fun. Short, yes, but fun. However, believe it or not, that was actually a full twenty turns. Nifty, isn't it? So that's about a third of this duel, though I'll probably finish it next chapter. Haven't decided. Either way, next chapter should be even better.

Thanks again to G.O.T.Nick for Katsu and his amazing deck. Totally kickass. And also, thanks a great deal to Seeker for use of his Angel cards, since I do love that particular set.

Original Cards-

Katsu (Unless otherwise stated, they're by Nick)-Priest of Excerion, Soldier of Excerion, Brood of Excerion, Throne of Excerion (Me), Excerion's Descent

Eizan-Uranus, Angel of Good Will (Seeker), Pluto, Angel of Weakening (Seeker), Song of the Faithful

Yusuke/Ukon/Shizuka- Basically, unless it's a card you recognize, it's mine.

_Next Time- The duel is now starting to really heat up as Katsu and Eizan stop holding back and let their true strength fly. Against their hard and calculated attacks, can their opponents even hope to hold out, let alone win?_

_Next Time-Professional Duel; Divine Duelists Pt. 2_


	10. Professional Duel, Pt 2 Heaven Descends

Wow, got this done faster than I expected. I'm not going to take the time to bore you. Read!

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Ten-Professional Duel Pt. 2; Heaven Descends**

_Drawing, Eizan looked over at Katsu and smiled that ever-present smile of his. "Well Katsu, I guess it's gotten to that point, hasn't it?"_

_Turning, Katsu nodded. "Indeed, time to stop holding back so much. Time to show them the full wrath of the Divine Duelists!"_

"I play Heavenly Recall to shuffle any number of angels on my field back into my deck and then draw that number of cards from my deck, plus one." Eizan began as Uranus and Pluto vanished from the field and he held up the two cards before combining them with his deck and shuffling, then drawing three cards. Now he had six cards in hand and just his three weak Holy Shine Spheres (500/500) on the field, plus two set cards. At the same time Yusuke had his Templar Swordsman (2550/900) and two set cards, Ukon had his defense mode Shining Teutonic (1200/2200) and two set cards, and Shizuka with Paladin Spierel (1800+600/1300) and Paladin Drevos (0+600/2500), along with three set cards.

"I play Polymerization, that I do." he called as a fairly common magic card appeared on the field. A vortex appeared on his field and the three balls of light were drawn into it, swirling faster and faster as they were pulled closer and closer to the center. After a few seconds there was a burst of light, and what emerged was a humanoid figure, but made entirely of the same unearthly light as the three spheres had been formed from.

"Holy Shine God (1800/1800) is summoned by combining my three Holy Shine Spheres, and when summoned destroys all magic and trap cards on the opponents fields." he continued. Raising its arm the being of light spread its fingers wide and released a wave of light from its palm, striking the various set cards on his opponents fields and shattering them. Eyes wide in terror, the three siblings watched as the creature lowered its arm, its task complete.

"That will end my turn, that it will." Eizan smiled at the effectiveness of his move. However, it was odd that he had done so little, since he held five cards in hand still and his monster was weaker than any other on the field, except for Ukon and Katsu's defense mode monsters. Still, Eizan didn't seem at all worried. It was as if he were expecting something.

Drawing, Katsu grabbed the card he had drawn a few moments before thanks to the Jar of Greed Yusuke had tried to destroy. Ramming it into a magic card zone, he startled everyone when a temporal warp appeared on the field, twisting and pulling all of the monsters on the field into it, including it mighty Divien Dragon-Excerion.

"Temporal Disruption destroys all monsters on the field and then allows each player to draw one card for each of their own monsters destroyed." the Ra Yellow teacher explained, causing each of the siblings to gasp in surprise as they lost two mighty monsters, as well as all of their defenses!

"I chain with my set card, that I do!" Eizan called over the roar of the vortex, one of the cards he'd set much earlier in the duel flipping up. "Fusion Separation sends one fusion monster on the field back to the fusion deck and then special summons the components from wherever they are. During my next stand by phase the fusion monster is re-summoned and if the components are still in play they are removed from the game."

True to his word the creature of light broke into three pieces which then molded themselves into spheres, which were then drawn into the rip in space-time.

Once the field was cleared of all the monsters, each player set to work drawing cards; two for Katsu and Shizuka, one for Yusuke and Ukon, and three for Eizan, since he'd lost his three Holy Shine Spheres in place of his one Holy Shine God.

"Now I summon Guard of Excerion (1200+300/2000) in defense mode," Katsu continued, a man in shining silver armor made to look somewhat like the mighty dragon, bearing a large shield made of the scales of the same beast and with the image of its face imprinted on its front. "And then I play Monster Reborn to revive one of my mighty Divine Dragon-Excerion's (1500+300/900) from the graveyard, gaining three hundred attack points from Soldier of Excerion."

Once again the silver covered leviathan appeared, blue flames dancing about. Letting loose another roar, it glared at the three opponents across from it, each of their fields empty.

"As for his effects..." Katsu trailed off, a slight frown on his face. "Since Throne of Excerion counts as being a Divine Dragon-Excerion while in the graveyard, I am forbidden from getting the same effect twice from them. So I will take one thousand attack points from the other Excerion in the graveyard, and the ability to attack twice after destroying a monster from those two." he explained as the flames wreathing his monster nearly doubled in size. "However, he's not done. You see, Brood of Excerion is another perfect tool for getting around Excerion's handicap. Brood's allow me to give a Divine Dragon-Excerion one of three effects, which just so happen to be the same effects as those printed on my dragon's card. However, Brood of Excerion is not a Divine Dragon-Excerion, therefore I am allowed to stack those effect. Therefore, I give Divine Dragon-Excerion another one thousand attack points!"

With another Earth-shaking roar, the beast's flames grew in size yet again as his power grew to a heart-stopping thirty-eight hundred, with the ability to attack twice after destroying monsters. Then again, there weren't any monsters to destroy, but that only meant a direct attack this turn instead. A direct attack that would defeat either Shizuka or Yusuke right now, or leave Ukon with just two hundred life points!

"Divine Dragon-Excerion (3800), attack Shizuka directly! Divine Flame Strike!" Rearing back its head, the dragon formed a large ball of sapphire flames in its maw. In fear, Shizuka watched as the attack was prepared and she had nothing available to halt it.

Snapping its head down, the dragon released the burst of fire, moving unimpeded towards the defenseless young sister duelist.

Which is why is surprised everyone, even Katsu and Eizan, when a burst of light suddenly formed in front of the attack, halting it in its tracks and holding strong as the flame lost power and eventually died down.

"What was that?" Katsu demanded of the female duelist, who responded with wide eyes by shaking her head.

Their attention was then pulled over to Ukon, who was chuckling lightly under his breath. "When Eizan summoned his Holy Shine God, he destroyed a special magic card; one of the best defense cards in the game, in my opinion." the brown haired duelist explained. "It's called Sanctity of the Buried, and it allows me to remove five cards in the graveyard from play to negate an attack." Fanning out the cards he had chosen from his graveyard, he dropped them casually into the breast pocket of his shirt.

Snickering, Katsu set a card face down. "Good teamwork. You care about your sister a great deal. That is good." he said as he ended his turn, allowing Yusuke to draw, beginning his turn.

"That's right, we do care about each other. We fight as a team and we trust in one another to pull the others through." he declared boldly, while he currently only held three cards. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"My move!" Ukon called the instant his brother finished. "Since I have no monsters on my field at the start of my turn and it is not the first round, I am allowed to pay five hundred life points to special summon a monster from my deck to the field." (ULP:3500)

On his field appeared another knight in the now familiar armor of the Teutonics, the white shield with the black cross on his arm. His banner showed the image of a mound of snow with dozens of snow flakes falling all around it.

"Blizzard Teutonic (0/0) in defense mode. Also, I set one card face down and end my turn." he finished, a single card appearing behind his lone monster. Turning to his sister, he nodded, an encouraging look in his eyes.

"Draw!" Shizuka called, giving her four cards, better than either of her brothers had been left with. "I summon a monster in defense mode and end." she called, a defense monster appearing on her field, but nothing else. It was odd, since none of the three siblings had done much else to protect themselves, despite the ferocity of Katsu's dragon.

'_Then again, they really can't. Once she ends her turn, Holy Shine God will return, and that means all magic and trap cards will be destroyed. But with just one defense monster each, there's not much they can do to survive anyway.'_ Kazuki realized as he watched. He'd been tight spots before himself, but this was completely different. _'And to think, there's three of them against just two teachers, but their still pinned down.'_

Drawing, Eizan waited a moment as his creature made entirely of light reappeared on his field, aimed its arm at Ukon's single set card, and fired a single blast of light.

"Chain!" Ukon called, though neither Eizan or Katsu seemed at all surprised as the card flipped up. "Desperation Draft activates when it is removed from the field, and it allows me to create two tokens of a monster I have in play." Once he had finished explaining, two copies of his single monster appeared on either side of him, both crouching in defensive stances.

Glancing at the nine cards in his hand, Eizan began to plan. Everyone waited in anticipation of what kind of maneuver he could have in store, having so many cards to choose from.

"I will re-summon my Uranus, Angel of Good Will (1800/0) in attack mode." he said as the brown winged angel appeared, its power once again at full and its smile wide. "Next I will activate a continuous magic card, Angelic Array. This increases the attack points of all Angel monsters on my field by three hundred." he pressed on as the image of the card appeared at his side, emitting a silver light which washed over his two monsters, increasing the attack points of both to twenty-one hundred.

"Now, to further assist my angels, I will bring the duel closer to Heaven, that I will." Eizan declared, taking the middle card from his hand and placing it into his field card zone. Instantly above his head appeared a large temple, its style seemingly Roman. It was made of a very light colored and beautiful stone, and seemed to be emitting its own inner light. "Sanctuary in the Sky makes all life point damage to me from Angels being in battle zero, that it does."

Setting a card face down, Eizan nodded to his monsters. "Uranus (2100), attack Yusuke's defense mode monster!" Lifting his fingers and emitting waves of light, just as before, Uranus blasted Yusuke's set card...which failed to shatter!

"Heh, you attacked Templar Centurion (1700/900)." Yusuke explained to a surprised Eizan. "He can't be destroyed in battle at all. That means I'm safe."

Nodding at this, Eizan looked at his monsters. "And because Uranus couldn't destroy him, I am not allowed to search my deck for a card. Well done." Turning to look over the remainder of the field, trying to decide the rest of his move. "Holy Shine God, attack and destroy Shizuka's set monster, if you would."

Raising both arms, palms out, the shining being released two streams of light which took only a few seconds to evaporate the target monster, leaving Shizuka's field empty. Of course, with both of her brothers still in action, she wasn't entirely defenseless.

"I set one more card face down and end my turn." Eizan declared as a third face down card appeared in front of him, backing up his two monsters.

Drawing, Katsu glanced his five cards over for a moment. "I set two cards face down and then I summon Speaker for Excerion (1200+300/1500) in attack mode." A man in silver robes, styled like a dignitary of a more ancient era appeared.

"It would be pointless to attack Shizuka, since one of the other two would just block with their monsters, I'll instead have Divine Dragon-Excerion, attack and destroy Blizzard Teutonic!" he called, his voice cold as ever. Opening its jaws wide, the dragon let loose a scorching wave of the blue flames, quickly eliminating the target. "And then attack one of the tokens!" he called, and the dragon obeyed, again incinerating the target. "Speaker for Excerion (1500), attack and destroy the final token!" he ordered.

Reaching into his cloak, the robed man searched for something before flinging his arm out in a wide arc, a silver dust settling over the target monster, who looked at his now powder-covered limbs in confusion...until the dust suddenly ignited, causing him to twist in agony before collapsing to the ground and becoming nothing more than ashes on the ground.

"Turn end." Katsu declared.

Gulping, Yusuke drew a card. He was now the only one on his team with a monster, and although it was immune to destruction by battle, it would only be a matter of time before either opponent managed to destroy it with some other method, and until then there was the fact that he couldn't keep on protecting his siblings forever.

"I play Kings Ransom to pay one thousand life points, allowing me to draw four cards!" he called, his life point meter dropping nearly by half as he slipped new cards from his deck into his hand. (YLP:1300)

Smirking, he shot a glance at Eizan and his monsters. "Holy Shine God is a mischievous little bugger, ain't he? After all, whenever summoned he nukes all of the enemies magic and trap cards. But that's not all. When destroyed in battle, he does the same thing. This makes him hard to counter, often." he said aloud, building up to something as he fiddled with a card in his hand. "But if it's not destroyed in battle, then that threat is gone. So I play Smashing Ground, destroying the monster on my opponents field with the highest defense score!"

All around Eizan's monster of light the ground began to crack and chip until it was completely surrounded, at which point the earth caved in, pulling the creature into the void before sealing up.

"That was very well done, that it was. I must admit, I'm surprised you knew of Holy Shine God's last effect." Eizan applauded.

"I'm not done yet." Yusuke called. "Now that it's safe to set cards again, I'll set these two cards. End." he finished, pleased to have dealt with a monster which had been a serious threat to him and his siblings. Still, they weren't out in the clear yet, thanks to Katsu and his freakish dragon!

"My move!" Ukon called, now more confident thanks to the efforts of his younger brother. "I play one of my rarest cards, Temple of Birth!"

There was a low rumble as a stone structure appeared behind Ukon, styled much like Eizan's Sanctuary in the Sky except much, much smaller (in comparison). Once it was fully formed everyone was rather shocked as Eizan's Uranus, Angel of Good Will, as well as Katsu's Divine Dragon-Excerion, Guard of Excerion and Speaker for Excerion, and then even Yusuke's Templar Centurion all shattered. No visible attack had been launched, they just simply fell apart and faded away.

Next Ukon fanned his deck out and five dots of light flew out of the cards and entered the temple, filling its insides with an almost eerie glow. Satisfied, Ukon shuffled the deck and returned it to its position, his opponents both fixing him with a hard stare, though Eizan's was weakened by his seemingly endless natural kindness.

"Allow me to explain. Temple of Birth, at the time of activation, destroys all monsters on the field, and then removes five monsters from my deck from play. Over the next three turns I may not set or summon a monster in any way, no exceptions. However, once the three turns have passed those five monsters I chose are instantly special summoned. Until then, it's up to my magic and trap cards, as well as the efforts of my brother and sister." Ukon explained, a dignified tone in his voice.

"Fair enough." Katsu growled. "However, you destroyed my Speaker of Excerion, allowing me to take a card with 'Excerion' in its title from my deck and add it to my hand." Taking a grand total of about thirty seconds, Katsu looked through his deck, took a card, shuffled, and returned it to its slot. Looking back up at Ukon he added, "Anything else?"

Nodding, Ukon set one card face down, leaving him with just one in hand.

Taking that as the signal, Shizuka drew. "I summon Paladin Aise (1500/1600) in attack mode." A warrior in golden armor appeared, radiating a holy light of sorts. "Paladin Aise, attack Katsu's life points directly!"

Slashing his sword through the air, the holy knight released a crescent of red light which struck Katsu in the stomach, causing him to double over ever so slightly and wincing a tiny bit. However, the damage wasn't terrible and still something he could deal with. (KLP:2000)

"I'll set three cards face down and end." Shizuka smiled sweetly as large images of her cards appeared between her and her monster, emptying her hand. Apparently the threat of Eizan's Holy Shine God had been a heavy weight for all three to deal with.

"Draw." Eizan said, sounding determined, yet still his gentle disposition overshadowed it. "I summon a monster in defense mode, that I do." A horizontal card appeared before him. Looking up his vision fell on the temple on Ukon's field. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he slowly exhaled and then turned to Katsu. "Your turn, that it is."

Nodding, Katsu drew. "Excerion's Rebirth to revive one of my Divine Dragon's from the graveyard!" he called as the serpentine beast once again appeared, glaring with immense fury at Ukon and his field.

"Since I have one Divine Dragon, one Brood of Excerion and Throne of Excerion in the graveyard, I get two effects, so I will once again take a one thousand attack boost, double attacks when I destroy a monster, and its third ability; allowing em to deal you damage equal to the attack points of a monster Excerion destroys!"

All told, the beast now had twenty-eight hundred attack points thanks to Soldier of Excerion and Throne of Excerion, plus the terrifying threat of two possible attacks per turn and dealing huge amounts of damage each attack.

"I summon another Brood of Excerion (700+300/400) in attack mode, and then I'll have my Divine Dragon-Excerion (2800) attack Paladin Aise!"

"I wont let you!" Yusuke shouted, extending an arm over one of his set cards. It flipped up to reveal a trap card, a small winged devil with a red die on it. "Skull Dice allows me to roll-"

"And then divide Excerion's attack by the roll." Katsu finished for him, sounding irritated. "Meaning that unless you roll a one, Excerion will perish."

"You got it!" Yusuke called as the little demon emerged from the card, dropping his die. The red cube bounced along the ground for a few seconds, constantly changing sides. Finally, Yusuke smiled wide as Katsu clenched his fists when the die stopped, four white dots facing up for all to see.

"Now your monster has its attack cut down to just seven hundred!" Yusuke cheered.

As the dragon snapped its head down, flames blazing, it was surrounded by a red light, which began to shrink, constricting the beast. It was odd, though, because Katsu's monster itself didn't seem to be growing weaker, despite the effects of the trap card. Then, with a mighty howl and a lurch of its body, the red outline burst and the attack continued, full force!

"You were reckless, Yusuke." Katsu nearly smiled. "While in the graveyard, Guard of Excerion protects all other Excerion monsters on the field from targeting effects."

Eyes wide at hearing this, Yusuke watched as the overwhelming blast of flames continued on their path towards his sisters monster.

"Thanks, Yusuke." Shizuka beamed at her brother. "However, I can take care of it. Reveal set card, Divine Aid, which doubles the attack points of a Paladin on the field for the turn."

The set trap card flipped up and her monster began to glow with a golden light emitting from the card. Swinging his sword, he released another crescent of light which cut into the blue flames, instantly causing them to fade away as it cut through, finally reaching Katsu's monster and decapitating it. (KLP:1800)

Turning back to Katsu and Eizan, she said, "When Paladin Aise destroys a monster in battle, his attack points increase by that monsters level times one hundred."

True to her word, the gold armored warrior on her field grew in size and the intensity of the sheen of his armor rose slightly as his attack power came to a rest at two thousand.

Again clenching his fists tightly, Katsu took one card from his hand and set it down next to the other one he had set the turn before. Narrowing his eyes on Yusuke he growled "Go."

Gulping hard, a look of obvious fear on his face after the look Katsu had just given him, Yusuke drew. Upon seeing his card, however, his face did a complete one-eighty. Grabbing his three other cards in hand he began his move.

"I summon another Templar Centurion (1700/900) in attack mode." he began as an exact copy of his last monster appeared on the field. "Next I set two cards face down and then I play Card of Sanctity, allowing each of us to draw until we hold six cards!"

As his two face down cards appeared in front of him, Yusuke drew six new cards, followed by Ukon drawing five, Shizuka with six, three for Katsu, and finally Eizan drew twice. Fanning their new cards out, each player examined their new options, though it was most relevant for the three siblings right now.

"I play another Called to Crusade to allow me to special summon another Templar from my hand, and this time I summon Templar Warlord (2700/1000) in attack mode!"

The new monster was bigger than any other monster any of the siblings had summoned all duel, dressed in bright gold armor and mounted on a brown war horse, its muscular form also coated in light chain mail. A sword hung on either side of the saddle and a third at the warriors waist, sheathed in favor of the long lance in his arm.

"Templar Warlord, attack Brood of Excerion (1000)!" Kicking his mount with his stirrups the knight directed his charge at Katsu and his weak attack mode monster.

Uncurling his fingers, Katsu waved an arm over one of his two set cards. "Excerion's Divine Flight negates one of your attacks and allows me to take a card with 'Excerion' in its name from my deck and add it to my hand."

Upon command, the immature version of Katsu's key monster lifted itself into the air, seeming to fly for the first time, as indicated by its sluggish movements. However, it was enough to get above the charging monster and avoiding its attack. At the same time, Katsu was flitting through his deck, again searching for a card of his choice before shuffling and returning his disk.

"Well, that only blocks one attack." Yusuke reasoned, pointing again at Katsu's small monster. "Templar Centurion, attack!" Brandishing his sword the smaller knight ran across the field and swung down, splitting Katsu's creature in half. (KLP:1100)

Raising and arm to protect himself from the flying shards of holographic light. At the same time he extended his arm over his other set card, which flipped up. "Altar of Sacrifices activates when a monster on my field is destroyed. I am allowed to special summon a monster of equal or lesser level from my deck to the field."

Instantly his deck popped three cards out for him, which he took and looked over. Quickly he decided on the one he wanted and set it on his duel disk before placing the other two on top of his deck, which was then shuffled by the duel disk. On his field appeared the third of the small Broods (700+300/400), curled up defensively.

"Alter of Sacrifices also increases my life points by the total attack points of the monster I lost and the monster I summoned." Katsu explained as a yellow light descended on his duel disk and his life point meter flashed to show the increase. (KLP:3100)

Gritting his teeth at seeing Katsu dance out from underneath his thumb, Yusuke then remembered something. "Templar Centurion has a very useful effect. Whenever he deals life point damage, an equal amount of damage is then dealt to a monster on the field. I dealt you seven hundred damage, so now that same amount will be dealt to Brood of Excerion! And since he's in defense mode, that's three hundred points of overflow!"

Taking a dagger from his hip, Yusuke's monster flung it at Katsu's monster, imbedding itself in the young dragon's side, slaying it.

Grinning at the effectiveness of his move, Yusuke passed to his older brother who drew with a bit of a flourish, setting him at seven cards. However, because of his Temple of Birth, he was still bared from summoning a monster in any way this turn.

"All I can do is set these two cards face down. Your turn, Shizuka." he sighed as two brown backed cards appeared on either side of the one he had set the turn before, nearly filling his magic zones.

"Don't worry Ukon, I'll finish up where Yusuke left us." the younger sister said as she looked up from her seven card hand, a plan already in her mind.

"Bond of Brothers to pay one thousand life points and then special summon two level four or lower monsters of the same type as a monster I already have in play." she began as two cards were ejected from her deck, which she promptly slapped down. (SLP:2700)

First was the familiar form of a Paladin Spierel (1800+300/1300), a copy of the monster Katsu had destroyed a few turns back with his Temporal Disruption. The second was another golden armored warrior, this one wielding a long handled axe in his hands.

"Paladin Spierel, whom I'm sure you recognize, and then Paladin Kendre (1400/1600)." she introduced. "However, I'm going to now sacrifice Kendre for Paladin Nexus (2400/2000) in attack mode."

In a flash, the axe wielding knight vanished and was replaced by a man in silver and gold armor, a decorated broadsword held up parallel to his face by both of his hands. Although imposing by himself, this was added upon by the ominous red light which encased his body.

"Paladin Nexus gains three hundred attack and defense points for every Paladin monster in my graveyard, and right now that would be fifteen hundred for the five Paladins that have been sent there." she declared as her monster shot up to thirty-nine hundred attack points.

"I now equip Paladin Aise with Armor of God to increase his attack and defense by seven hundred, in addition to the three hundred he gets from Paladin Spierel." she said as she slipped another card into her magic zone and light weight armor made of some sort of unnatural material, as if solid light, clapped onto her monster.

"Now, for the matter of Eizan's set cards..." she trailed off, drawing everyone's attention to the three cards Eizan had set. "I play Shadow Dispersion, which can only be played while I have a Paladin in play. It allows me to discard a card to destroy either all face down monsters on the opponents field, or all face down magic and trap cards."

Slipping a card from her hand into her graveyard, Shizuka grinned as Paladin Nexus swung his sword in a wide arc in a downward slant towards Eizan's field. The air in the path of said swing began to instantly ripple with the force of the attack, shattering all three of Eizan's cards.

"Now, before I finish of Katsu, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that Eizan plans on using his monster to block an attack. So, let's use that to our advantage." she said coyly, focusing on the silver haired professor's lone monster, the only card remaining on either teachers field. "Paladin Aise (3000/2300), attack Eizan's monster and go get yourself some more attack points!"

Unsheathing his sword, the warrior in the unearthly armor marched across the field, contrasting from the previous attacks of similar monsters who had sprinted across the field at breakneck speeds. Once he stood over Eizan's monster he lifted his sword, tip towards the ground, and thrust down, piercing into the card and the faint image of a man in monks robes.

"In truth," Eizan said as he placed the monster into his graveyard and then holding his hand over his deck, which, to everyone's surprise, extended a new card into his waiting fingers. "It didn't matter who you attacked with first. You attacked Ascending Man (500/1200), who when destroyed increases my life points by five hundred and allows me to special summon another Ascending Man from my deck to the field, that he does." (ELP:7550)

Calmly, the teacher laid the card that his deck had given him down onto his field, a horizontal card with a man in monk robes crouching in submission on top of it appeared.

"I see." Shizuka slowly shifted her head up and down in an understanding nod as it sunk in. "I've only got two more attacks this turn, and you can block them both." Eizan nodded the affirmative. "Well then, I'll just rip them in half here and now!"

Simultaneously the two remaining monsters on her field slashed their blades down, striking the ground at the same time and releasing identical blasts of light which surged through the ground at Eizan's field. The one from Nexus seemed to be moving faster and hit first, followed up seconds later by the one from Spierel, cutting Eizan's final monster in half less than a second after it appeared. (ELP:8550)

"Finally, before I end remember that Ascending Man is a level four monster, so Paladin Aise gained four hundred attack points." she concluded.

"Draw!" Eizan called, and for the first time all school year, he looked serious. "I summon a monster in defense mode and set two cards face down, that I do. End."

"My move!" Katsu said, his tone as serious and cold as ever. "Graceful Charity." As the familiar image of an angel raining light down on Katsu's deck appeared, he drew three cards before placing two from his hand into his graveyard. This was followed up by a card being ejected from his deck, which he quickly snatched up.

"One of the cards I discarded was another Priest of Excerion (0/0), allowing me to place the final Divine Dragon-Excerion into my hand from my deck." he explained. Taking another card from his hand he slapped it down onto the duel disk, a horizontal card appearing in front of him in response.

"That monster in defense mode and two cards face down, just like my partner. End."

"Alright, let's do this." Yusuke said, drawing to start his turn. "I summon Guardian Templar (1800/2000) in attack mode!" A man in shining steel armor appeared, a spear in his hands which he began to twirl experimentally. "His effect is like my Templar Centurion, only for him I have to negate the damage I do to your life points to instead deal double that amount to a monster of my choosing."

Eizan and Katsu both nodded, though it really didn't matter a great deal immediately, since their monsters were in defense mode. Still, it was good to have such information.

"Now I'm going to use my Templar Warlord's effect, skipping his attack this turn to make all Templars on the field immune to any form of destruction until the end phase."

Leaning back on his mount, the larger warrior on his field stuck his lance into the ground and then drew his sword, pointing towards Katsu's field. In response the other two knights underneath him both stepped forward, weapons at the ready as a white aura seeped from their leader into them.

"Templar Centurion, attack Katsu's defending monster." Drawing his sword, the named monster rushed across to the opposing field and slashed down, and was surprisingly deflected by a large silver shield in the arms of a large man in heavy silver armor.

"I have more than just one Guard of Excerion (1200+300/2000) in my deck." Katsu said as his monster pushed against the back of his shield, forcing the opposing monster to back off. "And now you also take the overflow damage." (YLP:1000)

"Yeah, but Templar Warlord's other effect now comes into play. When a Templar battles a monster, but fails to destroy it, that monster has its attack and defense points reduced by its level times two hundred." Yusuke shot back.

"Meaning my Guard of Excerion loses eight hundred defense points, I see." Katsu commented, though for some reason his tone actually seemed off-hand. "And yet, it fails, because once again that would be a targeting effect, and I still have a Guard of Excerion in the graveyard, protecting my Excerion monsters from targeting effects."

Clenching his teeth, Yusuke muttered something under his breath, though no one was quite sure what it was he said exactly. Turning his gaze forty-five degrees, he settled on Eizan. "Well, I still have Guardian Templar. Attack his defending monster!" he commanded.

Twirling his spear, the burly warrior jumped into the air and brought the tip of his weapon crashing down toward Eizan's field.

"I wont allow it." Katsu countered, pressing a button on his duel disk. "I activate Negate Attack to defend my partner."

As the offending monster descended, an invisible wall materialized in the way of the attack, which he bounced off of before returning to his controllers field. Growling, Yusuke ended his turn, leading to Ukon drawing.

"Since I still am not allowed to summon any monsters I pass." the brown haired man declared. However there was a bit of a smirk as he did this, and everyone knew why. Next turn he would be allowed to summon the five monsters he had removed from play.

"Draw." Shizuka called, raising her hand to three cards. "Ukon, Yusuke, looks like we'll need to change our attack pattern a bit, thanks to Katsu's Guard of Excerion being in the graveyard." As she said this her two brothers nodded in understanding. Once they had agreed, she turned back to her opponents.

"First things first, I summoned Paladin Xellos (1900/1200) in attack mode!" Another knight in shining armor, just like just about any other monster the three siblings had summoned all duel, appeared. However, this one was emitting a faint yellow glow. "Paladin Xellos powers up all paladins on the field by one hundred per paladin. Currently that's four hundred each."

The yellow glow around her new monster began to grow in intensity and overlapped her other monsters, enveloping each in its brilliance. Quickly their attack points sky-rocketed, Xellos coming out at twenty-three hundred, Aise halting at thirty-eight hundred, Spierel with twenty-five, and finally Nexus with forty-three hundred.

At seeing such incredible attack power, most people in the audience watched excited, sure it was the end game. Others began to either cheer or grumble, depending on which end of a certain bet they were. For others it was just awe-inspiring.

"Paladin Aise (3800), attack Eizan's defending monster!" Drawing his sword the now very beefy warrior charged across the field and slashed upward, cutting Eizan's monster card in half.

To Shizuka's shock, though, a golden light began to flow out of the destroyed card, covering her offensive monster, who responded by relaxing his muscles and stumbling backward. As he did so, his attack points began to tick down for all to see, coming to a halt at an even two thousand.

"Your defense monster..." she said, pointing at Eizan. "It was Pluto, Angel of Weakening (1500+300/0), powered up by your Angelic Array. Since I still did battle with it, my monster lost eighteen hundred attack points."

"That it was." Eizan answered. "However, that's not all. I activate one of my set cards, Tears of an Angel." The face down card flipped up, revealing a green border with a bolt of lightning in the corner, meaning it was a quick-play. "When an Angel monster is destroyed I can fuse it with an Angel in my hand. So I fuse Pluto, Angel of Weakening with Neptune, Angel of Emancipation (1700/0)."

As he explained he slipped the card from his hand into his graveyard, along with the destroyed monster and the magic card. Then he slapped a card from his pocket onto the field.

His new angel stood taller than any previous, probably about seven feet high. From his back extended two large crimson colored wings, adding to his menacing appearance, compliments of the stern and cut-throat look in his eyes.

"X, Angel of Fear (2500+300/1600) descends and casts his judgement on the field, that he does." Eizan introduced as Shizuka's monsters seemed to shrink back in fear of the new opponent. Still, it was far too weak to beat them. Wasn't it?

"I don't know why you bothered summoning him, and in attack mode no less," Shizuka said, though her tone did sound somewhat weary. "But I wont let you break my stride. Paladin Nexus (4300), attack X, Angel of Fear (2800)!"

Despite her commands, her monster refused to comply. Instead, the mighty and significantly stronger knight only seemed to be overcome with even greater fear as he ducked away from X.

"But...how?" the youngest of the siblings asked. "Neither you nor your opponent has any set cards to keep me from attacking. What did you do?"

As if you answer her question, Eizan held up his hand, which now held only one card. Unsatisfied, Shizuka was about to restate her question when she realized what he meant. At the end of his turn he'd been holding four cards, and was reduced to three when he fused Neptune with Pluto. However, he was suddenly down two cards.

Nodding, Eizan spoke. "One of X, Angel of Fear's effects is known as Fear Counterstrike, allowing me to discard my hand to prevent your monsters from attacking this turn."

"Well, if I can't attack him, I can at least keep him at bay myself. I end my turn, but tread cautiously, Eizan Kiske and Katsu Yoriyoi. My brothers and I do not bluff, and we are very intent on winning this duel." she finished, since she was unable to attack.

Drawing, Eizan began his turn. "X, Angel of Fear, attack Ukon's life points directly!" On command, the angel with blood-red wings fired twin beams of light from its eyes, intent on burning away most of the eldest of the three's remaining life points.

"Activate face down card, Seal of Ice!" Ukon shouted as crystalline prisms of ice formed at the base of the angel's feet. From there the ice began to grow upwards, new layers forming to shoot older crystals upwards, swiftly encasing him entirely. "Now your monster is trapped until you can manage to change his attack points."

"Very well." Eizan nodded. "I set one card face down and end my turn, that I do."

Drawing swiftly, Katsu began his turn. Eizan had taken a risk for him, forcing Ukon to use up one of his set cards. Still, Seal of Ice was a card that Katsu himself could have dealt with fairly easily, since it wasn't too much trouble for him to alter the attack scores of his monsters. Either way, though, it left Ukon with only two other set cards.

"I summon a monster in defense mode and set one more card face down. End." he said as the horizontal card appeared next to his Guard of Excerion, and another card parallel to the other one he had set last turn.

"Goody. My turn." Yusuke said, a cocky grin once again affixed to his face. "I summon a monster in defense mode and then I have my Templar Warlord attack Katsu's Guard of Excerion directly!" Hoisting his spear out of the ground, the mounted knight kicked his steed into action, barreling across the field, lance extended.

"I activate the set card, Blitz Counterstrike!" Katsu called as his trap card flipped up. In the path of the charging attack formed a shield made entirely of light and crackling with electricity. Once the spear met said barrier, it bent inwards, then pushed back, forcing the spear backwards. Then, before anyone could react, electricity burst from the shield, striking the horse and its rider and burning holes through both of them.

"This card costs me five hundred life points, but it destroys your attacking monster and allows me to draw a card." the Ra Yellow teacher explained, flicking a card off of his deck, giving him four in hand. (KLP:2600)

"You just don't die, do you!" Yusuke practically screamed. "Fine, since I can't beat either your or your partners monsters, I'll end there." he muttered, folding up his hand of four cards.

Chuckling, Ukon drew, giving him a hand of six. Of course, the real reason he was chuckling..."It's time. Three turns have passed, and I shall summon my choice monsters!"

Taking the five cards from his pocket, Ukon laid them down one at a time. Each one was nearly identical to the last, with very minor differences in their armor. The real distinguishing factor, as with the rest of his monsters, was the different banners.

"Celestial Teutonic (2500/2500)," A man on horseback, his banner showed the image of the sun and the moon together, surrounded by dozens of glittering stars. "Tempest Teutonic (2400/2300)," A banner displaying a maelstrom of wind with rain and lightning mixed in. "Starburst Teutonic (2200/1800)," Holding a banner with what looked like a star exploding was third. "Flash Teutonic (2100/1600)," the fourth monster's banner was pure white. "And Blitz Teutonic (1900/0)!" Final was a man on foot, his banner depicting a bolt of lightning.

"Next, to give them the needed power to finish you off, I play the Allied Forces, boosting each of them by two hundred for every warrior or spellaster on my field. I have five, so each one gains one thousand attack points!"

Much like what had been seen two duels earlier with the Gradius cards, the audience waited with baited breath as each monster gained a huge power boost, thanks to the vast numbers of them on the field.

"I play Flash Strike." he pushed on. "For every monster on my field whose attack I skip I am allowed to destroy one card on my opponents field. I skip the attack of Blitz Teutonic (2900), Flash Teutonic (3100) and Starburst Teutonic (3200) to destroy three cards on your field!"

From the sky...erm, ceiling rained three shafts of light, each one piercing into a card on the field, one striking Katsu's set card, another hitting his set monster, and the third striking Eizan's middle set card, all three shattering into millions of pixels of data.

"Tempest Teutonic (3400), attack Katsu's Guard of Excerion!" Ukon commanded. Charging across the field, banner inserted into a holster on the back of his saddle, the chosen warrior unsheathed his sword and swung down...and then suddenly stopped as its mount kicked up its front legs, neighing in a panic, and then retreating.

Sliding his last card into his graveyard, Eizan spoke. "Seal of Ice keeps me from attacking, but I can still use X's effect of Fear Counterstrike to keep you from attacking, that I can." Eizan explained.

Blanching at seeing such an opportunity ruined, Ukon looked at the remaining cards in his hand, then the two he had left set on the field before ending.

"Draw." Shizuka called, giving herself a hand of two cards. Looking over the entire field, her vision suddenly came to a stop on Eizan and his trapped monster. "Ukon," she said, though she did not turn to her brother. "You did will. You've now made it possible for us to finish them off."

To this, both Eizan and Katsu lifted their eyebrows, curious.

Seeing their curiosity plainly, Shizuka continued. "Once X, Angel of Fear came into play it became practically impossible for us to harm either of you. Katsu had a solid defense between having his Guardof Excerion in the graveyard to protect his monsters from effects, plus another on the field, teamed with various traps to maintain a solid defense. We were then going to go after Eizan, but with X's effect of Fear Counterstrike we couldn't do anything. But thanks to Ukon's attacks forcing him to use X's ability, he no longer has any cards to discard."

Widening his eyes slightly, Eizan waited for her to finish. When she did not say anything he asked, "Will you be attacking me then, instead of Katsu this turn?"

"You bet I am!" Shizuka cried, her tone very energetic. "Paladin Nexus, attack X, Angel of Fear!" Hefting his claymore, the mighty knight charged in, arms raised over his head.

"I wont allow this, that I will not." Eizan said, pressing a button on his duel disk. Instantly on of his two remaining set cards flipped up.

There was a flash of light from within the prison of ice, amplified by the prismatic design of the ice. When it cleared the shattering of glass could be heard, and it was revealed that Nexus had stopped just before running straight into the pile of ice, which had caved in on itself. Eizan's angel was no where to be found.

"What...happened?" Shizuka asked, blinking repeatedly.

"I activate my set card, Rise to Heaven, that I did." Eizan explained, very calmly as he point at the now face up card. "It removed X, Angel of Fear from the game, where he will remain until my next end phase. However, I do gain his attack as life points." (ELP:11350)

"So...you opened yourself up to a direct attack?" Yusuke asked, scratching his chin in confusion.

"He wanted the life points to survive my attack and then get X back next turn." Shizuka said, understandingly. "Well, fine, I'll play your game. Paladin Nexus, attack Eizan directly!" Lifting his sword again, the large warrior resumed his charge.

Depressing another button on his duel disk Eizan smiled in his ever friendly manner as his other set card activated. "You made a mistake, Shizuka. After all, if that had been my plan then I would have removed Nexus to gain far more life points, as well as preventing X's destruction since Nexus was the only one with enough attack points to defeat X, Angel of Fear."

"Then...what is your-" Shizuka began to ask, but her voice caught itself in her throat when she looked at the second trap card, which had fully revealed itself. "Oh hell..."

"Jusgement of Heaven can only activate when I am attacked directly," Eizan said, mostly for the sake of those watching. "It removes all of your attack mode monsters from the game."

There was a huge flash of light above Shizuka's field, and when it had faded her field was completely empty, except for the one card she still had face down.

Eyes wide, she continued to stare in horror at Eizan, the man who had anticipated her move so well that he'd managed to gain as much as possible, both in terms of life points and also in clearing her field! How had he done it? She was a professional rank duelist!

"I...I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn." she finally said, her eyes slowly beginning to narrow with frustration.

"Then it is my turn once again, that it is." Eizan said, topdecking. "I play Graceful Charity." Drawing three new cards, he calmly took the two cards on either side and inserting them into his graveyard. "I discard two Repayment of Losses, so I now am allowed to draw two more cards."

Most of the audience now were rather surprised by just those two simple, intermingling plays. He had just topdecked himself to three cards! And using a card that normally promotes no hand advantage!

Drawing the new cards, Eizan looked his now descent options open when his eyebrows shot up for a moment in surprise, though it went unnoticed by most.

"I will set one card face down and then summon Ascended Man (1200/500) in defense mode." In place of the cards he had used just a turn before now appeared a single set card. Next was a man who looked just like the Ascending Man he'd defended Katsu with earlier, only his robes where white and he seemed to have a new, inner glow. Also he had large wings that spread back about five feet or so, though currently they were curled around his body.

Turning to his partner, he finished up with a nod. "Katsu, it's time you did what you should have done last turn." he ended. At the same time his crimson-winged angel reappeared on the field, free from Ukon's trap card since it had left the field.

"I decided to exercise patience." the head of Ra Yellow responded, though if he was trying to make a joke then the effectiveness was swallowed up by his stone cold persona. Snapping a card off of his deck, he began.

Holding a hand out over his graveyard, he waited for a second or two for it to spit a card out, which he slipped into the side pocket of his yellow blazer. "I remove my second Priest of Excerion in the graveyard from play to special summon the third and final Divine Dragon-Excerion (1500+600/900)."

There was an audible roar that filled the stadium as the field once again was intruded upon by one of the silver scaled dragons. However, the question on most peoples mind was in connection with Excerion's attack points. After all, the Soldier of Excerion destroyed a while ago only gave a three hundred point boost...

"So," Ukon said in his matter-of-fact tone. "The monster you had set and which I consequently destroyed last turn was another Soldier of Excerion, was it?"

"It was." Katsu affirmed. "However, what you should worry about is Excerion's power."

"Why's that?" Ukon scoffed. "The strongest it could get is thirty-one hundred, since you can't stack the effects of Excerion, no matter how many are in your grave."

"You forget." Katsu said, his tone still a low growl, despite the fact that he seemed to be pleased with something. "You forget that Brood of Excerion is different from having a Divine Dragon-Excerion in the graveyard. Excerion get's an effect for each copy of it I have in the graveyard. However, the Broods do not get counted as extra Excerion's while in the grave. Instead, while in the grave they give each Excerion on the field either one thousand attack points, a second attack if it destroys a monster in battle, or the ability to deal direct damage equal to the attack points of a monster it destroys. Therefore, I am allowed to use the Broods to my hearts content."

Eyes wide, Katsu watched as the shining leviathan howled lightly while the flames around it grew exponentially. Once the growth of his monster had stopped, Katsu spoke again.

"I choose to increase Divine Dragon-Excerion's attack by one thousand for Throne of Excerion and then another two thousand for two of the broods. Then I will give him his other two effects from the two Excerion's in the graveyard, and then I shall bestow on him the ability to deal a destroyed monsters attack as direct damage." Eyes wide, everyone took in the site of the monster at fifty-one hundred attack points.

'_Wait,'_ Kazuki said to himself. _'I don't understand. All he did was use a Brood to give his monster the same text twice. That doesn't make any sense, as it shouldn't make a difference as to the effectiveness of the ability.'_

"I play Excerion's Wingbeat!" Katsu called, slapping the card from his hand into a magic zone. "This card requires me to have a Divine Dragon-Excerion on the field, and destroys all enemy magic and trap cards!"

The flames circling the dragon began to move faster around it's body and then began to gather on its back. Then they shifted and took the shape of four magnificent sapphire wings of flame, which it began to beat furiously. With each flap it released a rain of blue flames which washed over the fields of the three siblings, burning away their set cards, followed by powerful gusts which blew the ashes away.

"I chain with my set card," Ukon shouted over the beating winds. "Waboku to prevent you from dealing us battle damage this turn!"

"Activate face down card," Eizan called back. "Angel's Mandate costs me one angel from my field, but then it negates any card effect you use."

With a solemn look, the monk on his field broke apart into thousands of dots of light from the feet up. The lights became swept up in a spiral of wind which carried them across to Ukon and his set card, swirling around the image of his trap card before shattering it.

"Also, when Ascended Man goes to the graveyard I am allowed to draw one card and then special summon another from my deck." Drawing from his deck, Eizan picked up a second card which was ejected from the middle of his deck and placed it sideways on the plate of his duel disk.

His trap card gone, Ukon took an involuntary step back. He had lost both of his defense cards, and Allied Forces was also gone, weakening each of his monsters. Then again, even with his magic card they still wouldn't have stood a chance against Katsu's dragon.

"I see that you know what's coming." Katsu said solemnly. "Divine Dragon-Excerion (5100) attack with Divine Flame Strike!"

Curling back its entire body, the dragon prepared its massive attack. Clenching his teeth, Ukon waited the few seconds it would take, though they felt much longer to him. On either side of him his brother and sister were both watching him with worried expressions.

"Don't worry about me, you two. Just finish it." he finally said, then turned back to Katsu's beast and nodded.

As if on cue, Excerion snapped its head down and released another volley of its flames, consuming Ukon's Celestial Teutonic (2500). Then the dragon reared back again and spat out two smaller balls of fire, though they were still big, nearly as big as Ukon himself. One after the other they struck the ground in front of Ukon, bursting on impact.

"Now you will lose twenty-five hundred life points from Excerion, who inherited that effect from having another Divine Dragon in the grave, and then again for my having a Brood of Excerion in the graveyard. Together that is seventy-six hundred points of damage." Katsu explained, though if he was happy with this was hard to tell. (ULP:0)

Hanging his head, the oldest of the three dueling siblings turned around and walked out of the arena. As he dropped the two feet down to the ground, he called over his shoulder, "Use it." To this, Katsu and Eizan both raised their eyebrows.

"He's right." Shizuka sighed, reaching for her deck, Yusuke following suit. "Magic card activates from our decks!"

At the same time both duel disks beeped and ejected cards from the decks, which Shizuka and Yusuke picked up and slipped into their respective magic zones.

"Farewell Sacrifice!" they called simultaneously. Both Eizan and Katsu watched with blank stares, neither having heard of this card.

"This is a card Pegasus made just for us to use in this duel." Yusuke explained. "It can only be used in a team duel, and activates when a teammate loses. All remaining members of the team shuffle their hands, decks and graveyards together." They both did so.

"Then we may exchange cards from our side decks with our restored decks." Shizuka continued as she and her older brother took a number of cards from their pockets and set them on top of their decks, then sifted through their cards and took a number of cards out before shuffling again. "Finally, we draw five new cards each." Again, they did so.

"I see." Eizan mused. "Now that your teammate is out, you need to change strategies, that you do. Up until now, you've used a hard paced pattern, first with Yusuke using his Templars effects to weaken our monsters. Next with Ukon to use his large number of monsters to try and whittle down our resources. Finally, Shizuka, with the impressive attack abilities of her Paladins, to try and finish us off. However, since Ukon is now lost from the circuit, you both need to adjust how you play, that you do."

Both siblings nodded in response, confirming what he and Katsu had known all along.

Once it was obvious that neither sibling had anything else to do concerning the new card, Katsu took another card, decreasing his hand to two as he did so. Pausing before slipping it into his magic zone, though, he cast a glance to his left, watching his partner, who nodded in the affirmative. Narrowing his eyes with determination, Katsu activate the card.

"Reparations allows all players to discard up to three cards from their hand and then draw that many cards from their deck." he said as he and Eizan both held up a single card, half of their current hands, and in Eizan's case, the card he had kept in his hand after playing Graceful Charity; the same card which he had taken special notice of.

At the same moment, they spoke, turning their chosen cards around to show their opponents.

"Soul Renewal!" Eizan called at the same time that Katsu declared "Soul Burial!" At the same time they dropped the cards into their graveyards, and then again with the card they had each left in their hand.

Instantly their duel disks beeped and began to shoot cards out of their respective graveyards while at the same time ejecting their decks.

"This card activates upon being discards, that it does." Eizan explained. "It shuffles my hand, deck and graveyard together and allows me to then draw five new cards, much like your Farewell Sacrifice does. However, I am not allowed access to my side decks, that I am not." Drawing five new cards, plus two more for discarding Soul Renewal and his other card from his hand.

"I, however," Katsu interjected. "Would rather keep my graveyard as is, for the most part. So I am discarding my Soul Burial card which allows me only shuffle a maximum of ten cards from my graveyard into my deck, but I do gain one hundred life points for each card I shuffle in. Then I draw until I hold five cards" Fanning out eight cards, he shuffled them into his deck and then drew seven cards, five from his Soul Burial and then two from his Reparations.

"It's almost as if it's a whole new duel, that it is." Eizan smiled. "Shall we continue?"

_To Be Continued..._

That was fun. Some intense dueling, ne? And now it's about to get even more so. Crazy.

I would now like to announce that with this chapter I have reached and passed the one hundred page mark on this story. This chapter started on page ninety-nine and ended on page one-fourteen. Therefore this is also one of, if not the longest chapter of this story so far. So yay! Raise the roof...or something like that.

Also, since my bike is currently in the shop I am now walking to and from work. Today I felt inspired to start assigning theme songs to various characters from this story. So far I only have a few, but it's growing. In truth, I got this idea from Seeker of the Soul, who I think got the idea from kubo Tite, the writer of _Bleach_, but either way it's a cool idea. As such, if anyone wants a character portrait for a certain character, including trivia data about a character, along with theme song, let me know in a review or a Private Message or something like that.

And speaking of music...the next chapter will be a few days down the road, since I'm going to a concert tomorrow right after work (For once I'm glad I live so close to D.C., allowing me to go see Trapt and Shinedown in one place in one night!). Also, at work it's getting more busy, since the system I've been supposed to be using is finally up and running, and we've been running tests on it all week long. This means that I will no longer have several hours a day while at work to write. Which is unfortunate. That's been the key to my speedy updates these past few chapters.

Anyway, enough rambling. Next chapter I will finish the duel, I promise...unless it gets to be too long. I don't have any of it scripted, and since I reshuffled the decks, you never know what could happen.

Original Cards-

Katsu (Unless states otherwise they're by Nick)-Alter of Sacrifices (Me), Soul Burial (Me), Blitz Counterattack (Me), Reparations (Me), Throne of Excerion (Me), Brood of Excerion, Speaker for Excerion, Guard of Excerion, Excerion's Divine Roar, Soldier of Excerion, Priest of Excerion, Excerion's Wingbeat, Temporal Disruption (Seeker)

Eizan- Uranus, Angel of Good Will (Seeker), Heavenly Glow (Used last chapter, I forgot to mention I made it), Angelic Array, Angel's Mandate (Seeker), Ascending Man (Seeker), Ascended Man (Seeker), Pluto, Angel of Weakening (Seeker), Neptune, Angel of Emancipation (Seeker), Tears of and Angel (Seeker), X, Angel of Fear (Seeker), Rise to Heaven (Seeker), Judgement of Heaven (Seeker), Holy Shine God (Seeker), Fusion Separation, Soul Renewal (Seeker), Repayment of Losses (Seeker), Ascension (Used last chapter, but again, I forgot)

Yusuke/Ukon/Shizuka-All mine unless it's a card you specifically recognize from the show

_Next Time-The duel has taken a new shape as the decks are reset, strategies altered, and the number of opponents for Eizan and Katsu to defeat is down by one. It's time for the end game, but who has the resolve and the power to go to the end?_

_Next Time-Professional Duel, Pt. 3; Heaven's Cries_


	11. Professional Duel Pt3 Heaven Cries

Sorry for the wait people. Long story made short: work got crazy beyond all reason and planning for my return to school came up. Sorry again. Here it is, the conclusion of this badass duel!

Also, this chapter is dedicated to my good friend, G.O.T. Nick. He not only provided an awesome character with one sweet deck, but he's been a great support to me, especially during the troubles I had a few months ago with a certain flamer. Nick, this one's for you.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Eleven-Professional Duel Pt.3; Heaven Cries**

"_He's right." Shizuka sighed, reaching for her deck, Yusuke following suit. "Magic card activates from our decks!"_

_At the same time both duel disks beeped and ejected cards from the decks, which Shizuka and Yusuke picked up and slipped into their respective magic zones._

"_Farewell Sacrifice!" they called simultaneously. Both Eizan and Katsu watched with blank stares, neither having heard of this card._

"_This is a card Pegasus made just for us to use in this duel." Yusuke explained. "It can only be used in a team duel, and activates when a teammate loses. All remaining members of the team shuffle their hands, decks and graveyards together." They both did so._

"_Then we may exchange cards from our side decks with our restored decks." Shizuka continued as she and her older brother took a number of cards from their pockets and set them on top of their decks, then sifted through their cards and took a number of cards out before shuffling again. "Finally, we draw five new cards each." Again, they did so._

"_I see." Eizan mused. "Now that your teammate is out, you need to change strategies, that you do. Up until now, you've used a hard paced pattern, first with Yusuke using his Templars effects to weaken our monsters. Next with Ukon to use his large number of monsters to try and whittle down our resources. Finally, Shizuka, with the impressive attack abilities of her Paladins, to try and finish us off. However, since Ukon is now lost from the circuit, you both need to adjust how you play, that you do."_

_Both siblings nodded in response, confirming what he and Katsu had known all along._

_Once it was obvious that neither sibling had anything else to do concerning the new card, Katsu took another card, decreasing his hand to two as he did so. Pausing before slipping it into his magic zone, though, he cast a glance to his left, watching his partner, who nodded in the affirmative. Narrowing his eyes with determination, Katsu activate the card._

"_Reparations allows all players to discard up to three cards from their hand and then draw that many cards from their deck." he said as he and Eizan both held up a single card, half of their current hands, and in Eizan's case, the card he had kept in his hand after playing Graceful Charity; the same card which he had taken special notice of._

_At the same moment, they spoke, turning their chosen cards around to show their opponents._

"_Soul Renewal!" Eizan called at the same time that Katsu declared "Soul Burial!" At the same time they dropped the cards into their graveyards, and then again with the card they had each left in their hand._

_Instantly their duel disks beeped and began to shoot cards out of their respective graveyards while at the same time ejecting their decks._

"_This card activates upon being discards, that it does." Eizan explained. "It shuffles my hand, deck and graveyard together and allows me to then draw five new cards, much like your Farewell Sacrifice does. However, I am not allowed access to my side decks, that I am not." Drawing five new cards, plus two more for discarding Soul Renewal and his other card from his hand._

"_I, however," Katsu interjected. "Would rather keep my graveyard as is, for the most part. So I am discarding my Soul Burial card which allows me only shuffle a maximum of ten cards from my graveyard into my deck, but I do gain one hundred life points for each card I shuffle in. Then I draw until I hold five cards" Fanning out eight cards, he shuffled them into his deck and then drew seven cards, five from his Soul Burial and then two from his Reparations._

"_It's almost as if it's a whole new duel, that it is." Eizan smiled. "Shall we continue?"_

Slowly, Katsu looked over his seven card hand, taking each card into account. Currently he held the advantage, with his Divine Dragon-Excerion (5100/900) on the field, one Guard of Excerion (1200+600/2000) on the field and another in the graveyard to protect his monsters from targeting effects, and now seven cards in hand and it was still his turn.

Taking two cards, he slipped them into the magic zones on either end of his duel plate. To both his right and his left appeared the large images of the cards, though neither flipped up. Nodding to Yusuke, he signaled that his turn was over.

Fiercely, the middle child of the three, now two, opponents drew a card. "I summon Guardian Templar (1800/2000) in attack mode!" Once again the silver armored, spear-wielding warrior appeared, looking passive as ever.

"Now I'll have my Guardian Templar attack Ascended Man (1200/500)!" Twirling his spear for a moment, the mighty warrior hurled the weapon into the air, sailing in a high arc before speedily piercing through the angelic monks chest, destroying him.

In response to the death of the monk, Eizan's deck ejected both the top card of his deck, as well as one another from the middle of the stack. Adding the top card to his hand and then placing the other horizontally on his field, Eizan smiled as another monk with large wings appeared.

"Since Ascended Man was destroyed I get to draw a card and then summon another one." the teacher explained once again.

"I know, I know." Yusuke snarled. "I play Meditation, flipping Guardian Templar face down." His warrior vanished and in its place appeared a horizontal card image.

Taking another card from his hand, Yusuke quickly slammed it into a magic slot, a larger image of a green bordered card appearing in front of him. "I play Battle Scars, which will remove the effects of a monster on the field and lower its attack by five hundred. I would rather use this on Excerion, but he's both protected by the Guard in the graveyard, plus he'd still get powered up by the Broods, so it wouldn't help much. No, instead I'm going to go after X, Angel of Fear!"

As he finished speaking the angel with blood-red wings doubled over in pain, deep red scars appearing all over his body. At the same time, his attack points began to fall, coming to a rest at twenty-three hundred. Still respectable, but now without his effects he was much more vulnerable.

"I set one card face down and end my turn." Yusuke finished, a single card appearing between him and his defense mode monster.

"My turn." Shizuka said, drawing a sixth card. "I play the continuous magic card, Paladin's Order!" To her left appeared the image of a magic card with an infinity symbol in its corner.

"Next is Paladin Spierel (1800+300/1300) in attack mode. And just as before he powers up all Paladin's by three hundred." As her familiar monster appeared she wasted no time in playing her next card. "I play Bond of Brothers to sacrifice one thousand life points to summon another two level four or lower monsters from my deck of the same type as a monster on my field." (SLP:1700)

Fanning out her deck, she swiftly found her choice cards and slapped them both face-up horizontally onto the plate of her duel disk. On either side of her Paladin Spierel appeared two monsters, one identical to the first and the other a recognizable warrior crouching behind a shield made of light.

"Another Paladin Spierel (1800+600/1300) and Paladin Drevos (0+600/2500)." she declared as her monsters each gained the full six hundred point boost from both Spierel's, then another six hundred each thanks to Drevos ability to double any power-up effects a Paladin received. However, she didn't wait a second before slapping another card down and an enlarged image of the magic card appeared in front of her.

"Sword of Life can only be equipped to a light monster. It raises that monsters attack by three hundred." she continued to explain as a lovely sword appeared in the grasp of her attack mode Spierel. The hilt was a deep gold color while at the same time the silver metal which the blade was made of seemed to pulse with some form of life. Almost as if it weren't entirely solid. It was hard to describe. "Also, when the equipped monster beats a monster in battle, my life points are increased by the level of the destroyed monster times two hundred."

Swinging the new weapon around experimentally, Spierel smiled as it left a shimmering trail in its wake for a few seconds. At the same time a gold light appeared around Drevos' body and then the same light surrounded the sword, the defensive Paladin doubling the attack increase from the equip card. Once comfortable with its feel he turned his attention to Eizan and his now weakened angel.

Nodding to confirm her monster's desired plan of action, Shizuka formally declared "Paladin Spierel (3600), attack X, Angel of Fear (2300)!"

Slashing down with his new sword, the warrior of God let loose a beam of white light at the red-winged angel, cleaving him in half. This was followed by a ball of golden light floating in the space where X had been, which then floated over to Shizuka and was absorbed into her duel disk, increasing her life points by sixteen hundred, since X was a level eight monster. (ELP:11350)(SLP:3300)

Blinking in surprise, Shizuka and Yusuke stared dumbly at Eizan, confused.

"Your life points...didn't change." Yusuke finally commented.

"That they did not." Eizan confirmed. Then he waved his hand around, as if that should explain everything. Instantly realization dawned on the siblings and most of the crowd. Smiling, Eizan declared for all to know, "Sanctuary in the Sky is still active, and it reduces all life point damage to me from my angel monsters being in battle to zero."

Sighing, Shizuka hung her hand and glanced at her hand. Plucking another two cards out of her hand and setting them face down, Shizuka, along with everyone watching, turned their focus onto Eizan, who still had the innocent smile on his face, even though he had just taken damage for the first time all duel long.

"My move, that it is." Lifting the card up to his eye level, Eizan glanced at the eight individual cards and multiple options he had. Sighing, he set one card horizontal and then slipped three more face down, leaving only one magic zone empty, thanks to his face up Angelic Array magic card.

Grunting, Katsu drew. _'Why did she summon one of her Spierel's in attack mode? Just to destroy X?'_ he pondered, giving Shizuka a scrutinizing look. _'No, of course not. X was an annoyance, not a real threat. She's planning something, but what?'_

"I summon my third and final Soldier of Excerion (1700+600/1200) in attack mode." Just like in previous turns, a man in silver armor molded to appear like the hide of the divine beast appeared, sword in hand. "Divine Dragon-Excerion (5100), attack and destroy Yusuke's face down Templar Guardian, and then use the abilities of your sacred flames to burn away the remainder of his life points!"

Snapping its head down, the serpentine dragon let loose another of its now easily recognized flame jets towards Yusuke and his horizontal card.

"Activate face down card," Yusuke shouted, depressing a button on his duel disk, his set cards flipping over. "Magic Arm Shield allows me to use one of your monsters to block one of your attacks!"

Eyes wide, Katsu watched as a bright shield appeared in front of Yusuke's monster. Then two small doors on its surface opened, revealing a long extendable arm. Quickly said arm reached out and grabbed a hold of Katsu's Soldier of Excerion (2300) and wrenched him forward, swinging him around and putting him in the path of the attack.

Watching as the attack closed in Yusuke decided to declare "That's a difference of twenty-eight hundred points. You only have twenty-six. You're done for."

"Never." Katsu responded, frighteningly calm for the situation. "I activate another of Guard of Excerion's effects, allowing me to direct an attack aimed at a monster with 'Excerion' in its title at it. Your trap is wasted."

In a mad dash, the Guard of Excerion crouching next to Katsu's dragon rose to his feet and ran across the field, ramming the Soldier with his shoulder, jarring him loose from the claw of Yusuke's trap card. Then he fell back into a crouch, shield at the ready, waiting for the attack, a fierce look of determination in his eyes. Then he was gone.

Barring his teeth, Yusuke shouted, "Well, you still take double the attack points of Guard of Excerion as damage, and that's eighteen-hundred points, times two."

Calmly, Katsu showed his duel disk, which still read twenty-six hundred. Choosing to cut Yusuke's question off he explained "Excerion's damage effect only applies when it destroys an _opponent's_ monster. Guard of Excerion was my own creature."

"Damn..." Yusuke cursed lightly.

"Luckily for you, that same ruling applies to Excerion's double attack effect, so he wont be attacking any more this turn. Turn end."

Fiercely, Yusuke drew, glaring daggers at Katsu and his dragon. Reaching down to his three card hand, he set one of the cards down, appearing behind his defense mode monster. Then he grabbed that monster and flipped it over, his Guardian Templar leaping out of the card and took an aggressive pose. However, something was different about it. It looked...bigger.

Chuckling lightly under his breath, Yusuke explained. "Meditation flips a Templar face down. Then, each turn that monster is down its attack points are increased by five hundred. Between the four of us, that's a total increase of two thousand!"

"Impressive, that it is." Eizan smiled. "However, it's still too weak to beat Katsu's dragon. Could it be that you have something else planned?"

"You'll see." Yusuke responded. "Guardian Templar (3800/2000), attack Soldier of Excerion!" Lifting his spear, the holy knight charged, his aim true as he thrust at Katsu's weaker monster.

"I'm not ready to part with so many life points." Katsu growled. "So I will use the final effect of Guard of Excerion, removing it from my graveyard to negate one attack. Of course, now I have two in the graveyard, so I am still protected from your targeting effects."

This time, as a ghostly image of the thick shield that had been used by the defensive monster appeared, halting the spear thrust, Yusuke could not contain his frustration.

"DAMN YOU! HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU POSSIBLY STOP OUR ATTACKS?"

"As many as it take for me to win." Katsu replied, not at all affected by the outburst, infuriating Yusuke even more. As the young man prepared to shout again, he was cut off by his sister.

"Yusuke, don't worry. We'll get him in the end. I'm just about ready."

Upon hearing these words, Yusuke found himself much calmer, though still annoyed. Breathing deeply and looking at his two cards in hand, he set one face down and said "Turn end."

The instant he was done, his younger sister drew, boosting her hand to one card. However, that didn't seem to be terribly important to her, as she turned her eyes on Katsu and his dragon.

"That monster has been terrorizing the field for far too long now. It's time we got rid of it." she declared.

"You think you can?" Katsu asked, raising an eyebrow, though his eyes remained cold and judgmental. "I still have two set cards, plus Guard of Excerion in the graveyard. All that, of course, is in addition to Excerion's amazing attack power of fifty-one hundred."

"Don't get too cocky." Yusuke interjected, and Katsu turned his head the few degrees needed to address him.

"I am not cocky. I am simply reminding her of the situation. I have little doubt that she could possibly do it. The question is, _will_ she do it? Is her desire strong enough to overpower my monster?"

"Let's find out, shall we?" Shizuka smirked, slapping down her lone card onto a monster zone. A man in gold armor with bolt of lightning etched into his breastplate appeared. "Although not the ideal candidate, Paladin Kendre (1400+1200/1600) will have to do."

Focusing her eyes on the massive dragon, she reached for one of her set cards. Depressing the button, a trap card flipped over, revealing a man in armor in an offensive stance, a large sword held in front of himself.

"Sword of Assault allows me to sacrifice a monster on my field and add its attack points to another monster on my field. And then that will be doubled by Drevos." Calmly she nodded to her new monster, who bowed with a look of understanding in his eyes. In a flash of light he vanished, and then a golden aura appeared around her powered up Paladin Spierel, his attack points skyrocketing to seventy-six hundred!

"Now, before I do the real damage, I switch my second Paladin Spierel (3000) to attack mode and have him attack Soldier of Excerion!" In a single motion the weaker of her two attack-worthy monsters rose to his feet, drew his sword, and broke into a run.

"Reveal face down card, Excerion's Divine Roar!" Katsu called back. "This will negate your attack and allow me to destroy a monster on your field, and I will of course choose your powered up Paladin Spierel."

"Reveal face down card!" Yusuke shouted back, his one card flipping over. "Trap Jammer negates and destroys a trap card activated during the battle phase!" Eyes wide, Katsu watched as the holographic image of his trap card shuddered and then exploded, the fragments instantly disappearing.

Once the path was cleared, Shizuka's paladin resumed his charged, swinging down. Katsu's double-sword wielding soldier tried to take a defensive stance, but his swords and armor were all chopped in half with a single swind, destroying him and taking a fair portion of Katsu's life points. (KLP:1900)

"Now, my other Paladin Spierel (7800) will attack Divine Dragon-Excerion! Cast it into Hell!" Taking off at a dead run, the now super-charged knight lifted his sword above his head and charged for the silver dragon. In response, Katsu sighed and held a hand against his graveyard, which spat a card out into his hand.

"I remove my second Guard of Excerion from the graveyard to negate the attack." Again, a large ghostly image of a thick silver shield with a dragon's face carved into it appeared, absorbing the full power of the attack.

"Good. Now that that's out of the way, and one of your two trap cards is used up as well, I end my turn." Shizuka declared, seeming happy with herself. Not that she didn't have reason to. She had just opened her and her brother's options up dramatically. Katsu had lost one of his best traps, and now longer had his Guards to block attacks or targeting effects. Excerion was now extremely vulnerable.

"My turn once again, it would seem." Eizan cheered. "I will-" he said as he reached for his hand of cards and then cut himself off, hesitating suddenly, a thought seeming to have suddenly struck him. After a moment of deliberation, he folded his hand of cards up and said "I end my turn."

Eyeing his colleague unsurely, Katsu drew. It was odd that Eizan wouldn't make a move of any sort, but he still trusted him. However, it didn't change the fact that he was now in trouble, since Shizuka had a monster capbably of running him over easily. Then again, she had left more than one monster out there...

"In destroying Soldier of Excerion, you have given my Divine Dragon a further three hundred attack points." he began. "However, even fifty-four hundred attack points isn't enough to defeat Paladin Spierel as he is now."

Looking up from his cards and directly at Shizuka, his eyes betrayed a hint of confidence. "However, you did leave the weaker Spierel in attack mode. Then again, even without it being in attack mode, Excerion's effect will still finish you off. Divine Dragon-Excerion (5400), attack Paladin Spierel!"

"I'm going to stop you." Yusuke called, activating his other set card as the dragon reared back for his attack. "Go, Shrink! This will cut Excerion's attack power in half to twenty-seven hundred!"

A blue light surrounded the mighty dragon, who began to decrease in size while letting its attack fly. However, now that it was only half of its original size, the attack was much less impressive, though it went unhindered.

"I will hear none of this!" Katsu shouted back, slapping a card from his hand into a magic zone. Instantly his dragon was covered in a silver light and began to grow, though in the end it was still smaller than it had been previously. "Excerion's Divine Flame allows me to either increase Divine Dragon-Excerion's attack by one thousand for the turn, or allow it to attack again after destroying a monster, or to deal a destroyed monsters attack as direct damage. I choose the foremost effect!"

With a roar, the dragon fired another blast of flame directly after the first, only much bigger and faster, quickly engulfing the first attack and growing in size. Finally, it struck its mark dead-on, incinerating the target in a flash.

"And now you will receive six thousand points of direct damage, as is the effect of my Divine Dragon-Excerion (3700) currently."

"No way." Shizuka called, lifting an arm up over her last face down card. "I activate Sacred Life Barrier. Like the more commonly known trap, Hollowed Life Barrier, this card reduces all life point damage to me this turn to zero. However, instead of discarding from my hand, I have to discard a card from the top of my deck for each instance of damage. That would be three so far."

Without a word she slipped the top three cards from her deck and placed them into her graveyard.

"Well then, I suppose I'll just burn your deck." Katsu declared. "Since I receive another attack, Divine Dragon-Excerion, attack Paladin Drevos (600)!

Glaring down at the weak defensive monster, the dragon barely snorted before firing another wave of flames, this time burning the defensive knight away, meaning Shizuka's one remaining monster lost half of its power boosts, since Drevos no longer doubled those amounts. At the same time, Shizuka was forced to discard another two cards from her deck to prevent damage.

"I will set another card face down and then switch Divine Dragon-Excerion to defense mode, ending my turn." Katsu declared, his right hand clenching into a very, very tight fist. There were two particular things he hated which he had just done. First, he hated putting powerful monsters into defense mode. But on top of that, he hated turning his Divine Dragon-Excerion into defense mode when it was in such an advantageous level of power.

"My turn again." Yusuke said, his eye reflecting a confident light, even though he only had a single monster and just two cards in hand. "Awesome. I set one card face down," he did so, setting his older card down. "Then I play Card of Sanctity once again!" Swiftly the two siblings drew six cards while Katsu drew two and Eizan none.

Eyes lighting up with anticipation, Yusuke depressed a button on his duel disk and the card he had just set flipped up. "I activate Strike of the Templars, allowing me to instantly special summon up to three Templars from my hand, and their attack points become equal to the total attack of all three Templars summoned by this effect."

Grabbing three cards from his hand he slapped them down onto his monster zones, and one after the other knights appeared. Each was one that was recognizable from the earlier turns of the duel. First, Templar Swordmaster (2550/900) armed with two swords. Second, Templar Centurion (1700/900), armed with a single sword. Finally, Templar Axewielder (1700/1400), his twin hatchets at the ready. Then they began to glow with a single golden aura, uniting their attack powers. (5950x3)

"Now then, let's clean house, shall we?" Yusuke smirked. "Guardian Templar, attack Katsu's defending Divine Dragon-Excerion!" Although not a part of the initial team of summoned monsters, the spear wielding knight leapt into the air and brought his lance down.

"I activate my set card, Excerion's Divine Flight, negating your attack and allowing me to add a monster with 'Excerion' in its name from my deck to my hand!" Katsu called, his dragon suddenly springing to life and flying into the air to avoid the attack. Next his deck whirred for a moment and ejected a card for Katsu to take.

"That's one attack you've stopped." Yusuke reasoned. "Templar Centurion, attack Katsu's defending Excerion!"

This time there was no interference as the next armored warrior lifted his weapon and charged, swinging down with a sword glowing with power, decapitating the target dragon easily.

"Next up, Templar Swordmaster, attack Eizan's Ascended Man!" Jumping into the air, the gold armored knight slashed down with both swords, leaving two parallel lines in the body of the the winged monk before he shattered, only to be replaced by the third and final Ascended Man at the same time that Eizan drew a card.

"Finally, Templar Axewielder will attack your defense mode monster." Twirling both axes about for a moment to build momentum, the heavy-armored warrior finally struck with his right arm, more so smashing Eizan's horizontal card than cutting it. For a moment, a Holy Shine Sphere (500/500) was revealed before shattering.

Sweatdropping, Yusuke's eyes bugged out slightly. "You...I've been worried about that monster for two full rounds now, and it was just a Holy Shine Sphere!"

"That it was." Eizan smiled and nodded.

Shaking his head in annoyance, Yusuke looked his remaining three cards over, grinning. "Normally, at the end of my turn the three monsters I summoned with Strike of the Templars would have their attack points set to their base and then cut in half from there. Whatever amount is subtracted from my Templars after their set at their base is then dealt to me as damage. However, if they aren't around to get their points cut in half, then I'm safe."

Slapping a card down onto a monster zone, Templar Axewielder and Templar Centurion both dissolved and were replaced by a monster that had to be the most menacing Templar Yusuke had summoned.

Unlike the other Templars who had been in gold or steel armor, this one was in black armor, so deep that it seemed to suck the very light from around it. The crimson cross on his chest and shield ended in triangular tips on all ends. Finally, his sword at his waist was obsidian, though it was also obvious that it would not be brittle like the black volcanic glass. His horse was just as black, its size and shape adding to its intimidation factor.

"Void Templar (2500/2200)!" Yusuke introduced as everyone watched in awe. Grabbing one of his two remaining cards he set it and then activated the other "I follow that up by playing Tiny Pound Hammer to shuffle it into my deck and then draw a new card." Quickly he did so, activating his new card instantly. "Pot of Greed."

Drawing twice more, his eyes lit up with delight as he set another one of them, the second one he had drawn from his magic card, and then played the last one. "That face down to give me two sets and to end my turn, I play Mystic Wok to sacrifice Templar Swordmaster to gain his attack power as life points."

Laughing lightly, Yusuke slipped the named card into his duel disk, and his dual sword wielder shattered to pieces. As said pieces began to fade away, Yusuke himself was surrounded by a blue glow, his life points rising dramatically. (YLP:6950)

Snapping a card up from her deck, Shizuka smirked while surveying the field. She now was in control, having managed to really wrench it from Katsu and his dragon. Now all that was between her and her brother and victory was Eizan's one Ascended Man and three set cards, plus one from Katsu. That meant one monster and four potential traps.

"I play Graceful Charity." Swiftly she drew three cards and then dropped two of them into her graveyard. Not really much gain, in terms of the game, since it meant she had really only increased her current options by one card. Still, it did thin down her restored deck a few cards.

"I summon Paladin Vicix (1750+300/1100) in attack mode!" A warrior in thick leather armor with light plating covering it at various points, such as the chest, arms, etc, though it wasn't full-fledged armor. "Upon his summoning, Paladin Vicix gains one hundred attack points for every magic card in my graveyard at the time of summoning. I discarded two just now, plus Graceful Charity itself and Bond of Brothers, so I have four. Not a huge amount, but it doesn't matter much at this point." With a quick glow, her new monster's attack points rose by four hundred.

"Next I'll play Conversion." As she activated the card there was a unified gasp by the audience as Eizan's Ascended Man rose to his feet, walked over to Shizuka's field and once again fell to a crouch. Then, in a flash of light, simple golden armor clapped onto his body.

"This card can only be played when I have a Paladin on the field. It allows me to take control of one of your monsters and turn it into a Paladin as well. So now I have Ascended Paladin (1200/500), and he gains three hundred attack points from Spierel now."

Nodding, Eizan waited patiently. He knew of the card and what this meant for him, but still he didn't seem worried. Of course, he did still have three face down cards, though his teammate's field was completely empty.

"If you think I'll let those set cards of yours break my stride, you're wrong." Shizuka declared, taking two cards from her duel disk, placing one into a magic zone and the other into the graveyard. "Equivalent Exchange allows me to discard a card from my hand to then place a card of the same type into my hand from my deck or graveyard. So I discarded my Smite the Wicked magic card to place a magic card from my deck into my hand."

Fanning her deck out, it took Shizuka a grand total of about ten seconds to find a card, add it to her hand and then shuffle. Returning her deck to its place she wasted no time in setting a card from her hand and then activating her choice card.

"Shadow Dispersion, as you may recall, activates if I have a Paladin on the field. I can discard half of my hand when I have a Paladin on the field to destroy all face down monsters or all face down magic and trap cards on your field. I choose the latter to wipe out your set cards."

Taking one of her two remaining cards and putting it into her graveyard, she was rewarded when a bolt of lighting rained down from the sky, aimed at Eizan's set cards.

"I activate my Light Barrier and Soul of Light cards." the teacher called over the roar of the storm, causing his opponents to grimace as their attempt to decimate him were interrupted. "First, Light Barrier prevents you from attacking me this turn, and therefore it goes to protect my partner this turn as well, that it does." A glowing wall of pale yellow light appeared in front of the two teachers.

"And Soul of Light does...?" Yusuke asked.

"Soul of Light allows me to choose one monster on the field. That monster is prohibited from attacking this turn, that it is, and then increases my life points by that monsters level times one hundred. I choose Void Templar, that I do" A white glow surrounded the pitch-black knight, somehow keeping from being sucked away by his onyx armor. Then Eizan's duel disk began to glow as the life point counter ticked up by eight hundred. (ELP:12150)

As an afterthought, Eizan added "I only activated it to get the life points, that I did."

Nodding, Shizuka accepted this. Although she had been hoping her magic card would succeed, she wasn't really surprised that Eizan had been able to stop her from attacking. And at least none of his cards had been devastating.

"Draw." Eizan finally said when Shizuka took no further action. Once again he found himself with seven cards in hand, but now he had an empty field. He would need to make this turn count.

'_Not only do they have a powerful monster and our fields clear, but Katsu's in great danger. His hand is full now, and he even got to grab a monster when he used Excerion's Divine Flight when Yusuke attacked. However, Void Templar is an extremely dangerous card, and Shizuka's got quite a bit of power on her field as well. Plus, Katsu's running out of monsters, that he is. He may have been able to shuffle his defensive cards into his deck with Soul Burial, but he's running out of monsters. He's lost both Guards completely now, along with two of his Priests, not that the latter are very useful as he is now. His Soldiers have all been sent to the graveyard, and all three Divine Dragon's are there as well. That leaves him with few monsters to draw from. That means that, until he can draw one of a few select cards, it's up to me, that it is.' _

"I summon Venus, Angel of Creation (1600+300/0), and then I pay one thousand life points to summon my two remaining Holy Shine Spheres (500+300/500) from my deck in defense mode, that I do." he declared, his life points taking a very minor dip as the golden haired angel and two balls of light appeared on either side of her, gaining power from Angelic Array. (ELP:11150)

"Venus (1900), attack Ascended Paladin (1500)! Light of Creation!" Lifting her right arm and spreading her fingers so that they extended towards the target monster, the maiden of light released five streams of light, burning five small holes in the target monster. (SLP:3000)

"Now I draw a card from the destruction of my monster, though I don't have any copies to take from my deck." his opponent responded, picking up a new card.

Grabbing the card he had drawn that turn, Eizan slipped it into a magic zone and a holographic image appeared next to him, revealing a continuous magic card. From the card emitted a bright, warm light, and one could faintly hear the sound of voices laughing in pure joy.

"Joyful Light of the Heavenly Realm is a powerful and rare magic card, that it is. It allows me to draw one extra card each of my draw phases." he introduced.

"Now I will set two cards face down, and end my turn, that I do." Smiling brightly as ever, Eizan dropped the cards from his hand into magic slots, leaving him with three cards in hand. The instant he was done, Katsu drew.

"I summon Speaker of Excerion (1200+900/1500) in defense mode and set four cards face down. That ends my turn." the Ra Yellow head declared quickly and sharply as a man in silvery robes appeared, crouching low. At the same time four brown backed card images appeared behind him.

Drawing, Yusuke watched the two uneasily. Despite the obvious advantage he and his sister had, neither of their opponents seemed at all worried. Glancing at his one card, he let loose a loud sigh and chuckle.

"What are the odds?" he asked aloud, his laughter persisting a few moments more. "I drew my Life-Slashing Treasure card, so now I draw five new cards." One card at a time he refilled his hand.

Eyes alight, he looked his new cards over. Then, looking up at his opponents, he spoke "Knowing Katsu, at least half of those cards there are defensive by nature. However, chances are that they require me to attack in order to activate. The others are probably either decoys, bluffs, or being set up for later use."

"What are you getting at?" Katsu demanded, his tone remaining cold as ever. He didn't need to ask, really, since he was pretty certain of what Yusuke was planning on doing.

"I play Harpies Feather Duster to destroy all magic and trap cards on the opponents fields." the rash man called, a funnel of wind and feathers striking from the sky, enveloping both Katsu and Eizan's fields. One by one their magic and trap cards shattered, leaving their fields much emptier.

"Now your defenses are all gone, and even Eizan's annoying field card is gone." Yusuke gloated, and it was true. The impressive temple that had been set up above Eizan had indeed been shattered by the windstorm, as had his Angelic Array card, meaning his angel monsters lost attack points and were now more vulnerable, especially with no set cards to protect them!

Surprisingly, Yusuke's celebrating was interrupted by a cold, concise comment from Katsu.

"I am not as helpless as you may think. I activated my set card, Emergency Provisions, to sacrifice the other three cards on my field and gain one thousand life points each." (KLP:4900) "Also, two of the cards I had set were Jar of Greed, which I also activated to draw twice more."

Shrugging, Yusuke turned his eyes to his four remaining cards, though he continued to address the two teachers. "All that means is you've got more life points. We can hack through those without too much trouble." Grabbing a card from his hand, he slapped a monster down.

"I summon Templar Foot Soldier (1700/1000)." A man in steel armor, equipped with a sword and short sword, plus a shield on his back, appeared. "Foot Soldier, attack a Holy Shine Sphere (1600)!"

Jumping into the air, sword raised back over his head, the warrior prepared his attack against the completely unguarded ball of light. With a roar, he descended and slashed it in half.

"Also, as a final note I'll tell you that any monster my Templar Foot Soldier does battle with has its attack and defense points reduced by its level times one hundred until the end phase."

Turning his attention to another of his monsters he continued, "Guardian Templar, attack Venus, Angel of Creation (1600)!" Twirling his spear, the armored warrior aimed at the female angel and released a blast of light, catching her in the stomach and shattering her. (ELP:11150)

When Eizan's life points did not change, though, Yusuke spoke up again. "Instead of dealing you the life point damage, I'll deal double that amount to the final Holy Shine Sphere!" With another flourish of his weapon, the knight fired another blast of light, dealing a total of four thousand damage to Eizan's final defending monster. Needless to say, the lone monster shattered.

"Finally, Void Templar, attack Speaker of Excerion!" Spurring his mount, the large warrior bolted across the field, slashing downward and severing the head from the body of Katsu's monster.

"By destroying Speaker of Excerion, you allow me to take any card with 'Excerion' in its title from my deck and add it to my hand." Katsu said, fanning his deck out and taking the card he wanted.

"I remember." Yusuke retorted. "Not that it matters. Take it away, Shizuka."

"Gladly." his sister responded, drawing. Taking only a few seconds to register which card it was, she added it to her hand and then turned to her two monsters.

"Paladin Vicix (2450), attack Katsu's life points directly!" Lifting his arm into the air, the chosen paladin waited a minute as gold light began to swirl around his fist, infusing his hand with power. Once he was ready he sprinted across the field and decked Katsu in the jaw, sending him stumbling backwards several feet, but he maintained his position otherwise. (KLP:2450)

"Paladin Spierel (4700), finish him off!" Rushing forward, sword at the ready, her super-charged monster made his move. Within seconds he was in striking range, slashing horizontally at Katsu's abdomen...and then stopped, suddenly.

"Not quite there." Katsu growled. "Destroying Speaker of Excerion was a mistake on your part. It was the last monster in my deck, meaning all that remains is magic and trap cards. When my hand and deck are free of monsters, I can activate Soul Force from my hand or deck to block a single attack. Hard to use, but in my deck, which has only a handful a monsters, it's useful."

Gritting her teeth, Shizuka passed her turn on, unable to do anything else. Drawing, Eizan began his turn.

"Once again, I summon Pluto, Angel of Weakening (1500/0) in attack mode, that I do." The yellow skinned angel appeared, snapping his wings out for a moment and then curling them in on the sides. Compared to the large knights on Shizuka's field and the ominous one Yusuke had summoned, he was very tiny.

"I will set two cards face down and end my turn." he finished. It wasn't much of a defense, but it was all he could do.

"My move." Katsu called, barely looking at his new card before slapping another one from his hand into a magic zone; the card he had searched for when his Speaker of Excerion was destroyed. "Excerion's Rebirth revives one of my Divine Dragons from the graveyard!"

There was an explosion of blue flames, followed by an ear-splitting howl. Then, crawling from the flames emerged the now familiar dragon, lashing about in rage. Then its eyes fell on Yusuke and Shizuka, and the low growl it breathed into the air caused the bones of all within the arena to shutter, even though they felt no fear.

"Now he will receive one of each of his effects from the other two Excerion's and the Throne of Excerion in my graveyard." Katsu declared as his dragon's power sored up to thirty-four hundred, one thousand for one of the copies in his graveyard, and then four hundred for the three Soldiers of Excerion that resided there as well. "Next I will give him another two thousand attack points from two Broods, and the ability to deal a destroyed monsters attack as damage from the third."

All told the Divine Dragon-Excerion now had fifty-four hundred attack points and the ability to deal double the attack points of a destroyed monster as damage to the opponent. It was a frightening combination, though it wasn't strong enough yet to defeat Shizuka's powered up Paladin Spierel.

"Now, to eliminate your monsters who are unworthy of being in the presence of Excerion," the black haired man said, taking another card from his hand. "I play Excerion's Flame Strike!"

In response to the cards activation the leviathan curled back its head, then snapped it back down, releasing a wave of flames unlike any previous. Instead of being sapphire blue they were silver and sparkled with some sort of majestic light. Also, the flames were significantly larger than any other all duel long, spreading over both Yusuke and Shikua's entire fields.

"This card can only be played if I have a Divine Dragon-Excerion on my field. I forfeit my battle phase to eliminate all enemy montsers." Katsu explained as Guardian Templar, Templar Foot Soldier, Void Templar, Paladin Spierel, and Paladin Vicix were overwhelmed by the flames, leaving behind nothing but ashes.

"Reverse card, open!" Yusuke shouted over the crackling of the flames. "Fighting Through Pain activates when a warrior monster is destroyed, and instantly special summons that monster back to my field once the effect or battle has resolved!" His black armored monster, the Void Templar, reappeared on the field once the flames had dissipated, appearing just as menacing as ever.

Clenching a fist in annoyance, Katsu grabbed another card from his hand. "I play Surprise Attack from the Darkness, allowing all monsters I summoned this turn an extra battle phase. That means that Excerion will still get a chance to burn you with his power. Divine Flame Strike!" The dragon promptly complied, releasing a stream of the usual blue flames.

"Pick on someone else, jerk!" Yusuke called back, extending an arm over one of his set cards. It flipped over, revealing a continuous trap card. "Spirit Barrier makes all life point damage to me from battle while I have a monster on the field become zero."

"Then your other set card is..." Katsu trailed off, sure that his guess was correct, only to have it confirmed as Yusuke depressed another button on his duel disk, activating his last set card, the one he'd set two turns ago after playing Tiny Pound Hammer.

"Astral Barrier allows me to make any attack against my monsters a direct attack against me. However, because I have a monster on the field, the damage is zero." he snickered as two domes of light surrounded him, one light blue and the other golden. In response, the wave of flames missed the black armored knight and moved on towards Yusuke, only to collide with the golden barrier and fade away.

"Very well, I play Excerion's Divine Breath!" Katsu pushed on, activating his magic card. "This deals you damage equal to the level of the strongest monster in play times three hundred. Then it increases my life points by that same amount. Since Excerion is a level five monster and is currently the strongest, that's fifteen hundred damage to you and fifteen hundred gain for me."

Opening its maw, the silver leviathan exhaled deeply, releasing a low, rippling wave of flames across the field, bypassing Yusuke's monsters and his barriers and striking him directly. (YLP:5450)(KLP:3950)

"I set one card face down, and end my turn." Katsu finished, his annoyance obvious. The moment Yusuke drew, the head of the Ra Yellow dorm extended an arm over one of his set cards, which activated. "Excerion's Luring Gaze allows me to choose one monster on the field and force it to battle with my Divine Dragon!"

Narrowing its stare on the black knight, the dragon's amber eyes flashed silver for a moment. In response the knight's body went tense for a moment, and then he suddenly broke into a fit of rage, raising his sword above his head and kicking his horse in the sides, spurring forward.

Surprisingly, Yusuke began to laugh.

"Katsu, that was a bit of a waste of a trap. I was going to attack Excerion this turn anyway. You just made things a bit more difficult for me." Katsu's eyebrow arched while Yusuke reached for his graveyard.

"When Void Templar engages in battle, I am allowed to shuffle one monster in my graveyard into my deck to decrease your monsters attack by that of the monster I shuffle in." the elder of the two siblings explained, a card ejecting from his graveyard, which he turned around and showed to his two opponents. It was his Guardian Templar, and so Excerion's attack points instantly began to fall by eighteen hundred, coming to a rest at thirty-six hundred. Still more than a thousand points beyond that of the charging Templar.

"My turn to give my brother a hand." Shizuka called, her set card flipping up. It was a quick-play magic card, and a rare one at that. "Power Expansion is the opposite of Shrink, increasing the attack points of a monster on the field by half of their current strength."

While charging, Yusuke's monster waved his sword above his head and energy began to be drawn into it as his attack power rose, ending at thirty-seven fifty. Swinging down, he decapitated the dragon with ease. (KLP:3700)

Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Katsu remained silence as Yusuke looked his single card over before lowering his arm, giving control over to his sister.

"Here I go." she said, whipping the card off the top of her deck. Upon seeing the card, her eyes lit up in an almost dangerous fashion. Quickly she grabbed the other card from her hand and slipped it into a magic zone, still pinching her newest card between her fingers. "I play Soul Charge! For every five hundred life points I pay I can revive a monster from my graveyard, though they can't attack this turn."

One by one, three patches of light appeared in front of her, each one giving rise to another of her deadly paladins. First was Spierel, then Drevos, and finally Vicix. Instantly all their effects came into play, Drevos doubling all increases, Vicix gaining two hundred for each magic card in the graveyard, and the Spierel giving all paladins on her field six hundred attack points. At the same time, Shizuka's life points fell by fifteen hundred. (SLP:2500)

"Now I sacrifice Spierel and Vicix," she called, shocking just about everyone watching. With the exceptions of Eizan, Katsu, Pegasus, Yusuke, Ukon, and a few other instructors throughout the arena, everyone was left pondering her choices. "I summoned Divine Paladin Helios (2900/2800)!"

Her newest monster, covered in armor, radiated with intense golden light. In his left arm was a polished silver shield, reflecting the light, as did his mirror-bright sword. It was completely the opposite of Yusuke's Void Templar, and it was rather ironic to see them both on the field together.

"Divine Paladin Helios, attack Katsu's life points directly!" she shouted. In response her monster lifted his sword above his head and light began to flow into the blade, but at the same time, do to the reflective nature of the metal, it reflected the concentrated light.

"Also, I activate Helios' special ability." Shizuka added, reaching for her deck. "I can remove a monster in my deck from play to increase his attack by the attack of the removed monster. And with Drevos, that's doubled!"

Turning her choice card around to show it off, she revealed Paladin Xenex (2500/2100) and then slipped it into her pocket. Instantly the light flowing from her monster's sword maximized, its intensity releasing ripples through the air as he absorbed five thousand attack points on top of his already impressive twenty-nine hundred, for a total of seventy-nine hundred.

Swinging down, her monster released all of the gathered energy in a single blast of light, surging through the ground towards Katsu and his empty field.

"Pluto, go!" Eizan shouted, speaking for the first time since his last turn, startling everyone. Instantly his monster leapt into action, floating over to Katsu and intercepting the blow, being more so blinked out of existence than destroyed.

When the lights faded, no trace of Eizan's monster remained, and Shizuka's monster's attack was lowering since his effect had resolved, and then further from Pluto's effect, draining fifteen hundred attack points, making him far less than impressive. (ELP:5750)

"Damn. I'd forgotten all about you." Shizuka snarled. "I play Magic Purge, removing all floating effects, including Pluto's." she finished, her monster returning to his base attack total of twenty-nine hundred.

"Draw!" Eizan called when Shizuka could do nothing more. Looking his cards over for a minute, he folded his hand up and turned to Katsu. "I end, that I do."

Everyone but Katsu facefell.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Shizuka asked. "If you don't do anything, you will lose."

"Not at all." Eizan smiled back. "It's going to end here, that it is. I just think that it's appropriate for Katsu to finish this, that I do."

"If you say so." Yusuke rolled his eyes as Katsu drew.

"Eizan, you take too many risks." his colleague said gruffly. "However, your capacity to make it all work out in the end is what leads you to be confident when you take those risks."

"I appreciate your words, Katsu, that I do." Eizan said. "But please, I don't want to stand between the students and the festivities tonight, that I do not."

"Very well." Katsu said evenly, turning back to the siblings. Taking the card from his hand which he'd drawn the previous turn, he set it face down. Then he took his newest card and turned it around for them to see. "Twilight Renewal to draw five new cards since my hand is empty!"

In one swift motion he drew five new cards, leaving him with less than ten in his deck. Looking them over, he sighed aloud, his eyes closing and his head tilting forward with a bemused expression. Grabbing the middle card, he quickly activated it.

"Renewal of the Triplets revives three of the same monster from my graveyard." he said coldly.

Eyes wide, Shizuka and Yusuke, as well as everyone in the audience watched, knowing what was coming. The ground rumbled as all three of Katsu's monsters, the Divine Dragon-Excerion appeared, powered up by nine hundred a piece from the three Soldiers of Excerion in the graveyard.

"Now," Katsu began. "Now it is time for me to reveal the final effect of Throne of Excerion. When I have all three copies of Divine Dragon-Excerion on the field, Throne of Excerion is counted as four in the graveyard, and allows me to stack effects!"

If Shizuka and Yusuke's eyes hadn't already been stretched to their max, then the eyeballs probably would have fallen right out as Katsu's monsters attack points began to skyrocket.

"I will power up each Divine Dragon-Excerion by five thousand and give each the ability to deal a destroyed monsters attack as damage twice." Choking for breath, Shizuka and Yusuke stared up at the three monstrous beings, each now with eighty-four hundred attack points!

"Now for the matter of Yusuke's Barrier-lock." Katsu said off-handedly, pressing a button on his duel disk and his set card flipped up. "Wingbeat of Excerion, as you should recall, destroys all of your magic and trap cards."

The eyes of all three dragons flashes gold, followed by a sudden and massive surge of wind blasting the field, shattering all of the magic and trap cards on Yusuke and Shizuka's field.

"Divine Dragon-Excerion (8400), attack and destroy Void Templar! Take your revenge!"

Rearing back, the first serpentine dragon gathered his flames and let fly a jet of dark blue shimmering flames, larger than any flame released all duel long. Much like how Eizan's angel had been decimated by Shizuka's monster, Yusuke's was similarly erased.

This was followed by a second wave of flames, though not as overwhelming in size or color, but still significant, dealing Yusuke the full five thousand damage, double the amount of attack points Void Templar had wielded. (YLP:0)

"And now I'll have my other two Excerion's attack Shizuka's monsters. End it now!" Similarly to their brother, the two dragons let loose streams of blue flames, washing the youngest of the siblings duelists field clean without effort. Then, rearing back again, they released two large streams, dealing her the attack points of her monster as damage, although the overflow damage had been far more than adequate. (SLP:0)

Cheers errupted throughout the stadium as the life point counters finished ticking down. The images of the three dragons remained a minute longer, basking in their own personal majesty.

Up in the executive box, Kaiba turned to Pegasus, a rather annoyed look on his face. This was mostly do to the fact that Pegasus was cheering and laughing wildly, even though the three duelists he'd hired and brought had been crushed. Very soundly, in fact.

"What are you so happy about? Your duelists lost to my teachers." he finally snarled.

Taking a minute to get control of his enthusiasm, Pegasus turned to his business associate. "Kaiba-boy, just because they were here on my request doesn't mean that I was on their side. Things are not always what they seem. Isn't that one of your motos in life?"

Kaiba could only growl, turning away from the man whom he could only define as ridiculous.

Back in the arena, Eizan and Katsu were meeting with the three siblings whom they had just beaten. While the three were rather animated, and Eizan smiling and apparently very spirited, Katsu maintained his very cool composure.

"How did you do that with the cards to shuffle your decks?" Ukon asked.

"That was Katsu's idea, that it was." Eizan answered. "While we were walking down to the arena floor he stopped me and gave me Soul Renewal, suggesting it may come in handy since team duels can drag on for some time, that they can."

"Impressive, Katsu." Shizuka said, smiling. "You're just as brilliant and thorough as ever. In fact, it was good to see you duel again. I don't think you've been in an arena since-"

But whatever she was about to say was suddenly lost amidst a huge upsurge of cheers as a quick memo was broadcast, saying that it was time for the party outside to begin.

_To Be Continued..._

Wow. That's crazy. Enough overkill there?

Anyway, this is my last chapter for a little while. I fly out to Idaho on Saturday, then I'll use the weekend to move into my dorm and adjust to Idaho time, then I start classes on Monday and my big brother's wedding is on Thursday, forcing me to bus down to Utah for most of next week.

Original Cards-Screw it! You should know by now whose cards are whose. Just too many this turn.

_Next Time-The Duel Festival has come and gone, and now it's time for Kazuki's first day of working for Professor Kiske as an aid. But does Eizan have anything else planned? And why is Pegasus visiting his office? The time has come for Kazuki to learn the nature of his first year at Duelist Academy!_

_Next Time-The Game_


	12. The Game

I update because I care. Isn't that nifty?

I apologize for not having updated in so long. Truly, I am. This chapter was particularly difficult to write, mostly because there is no duel (sorry), so I had to fill it entirely with dialogue. That can be hard some times.

On top of that, between getting back to school, my big brother's wedding, getting a job as a 4 AM janitor (...fun...?), making some new decks, and having to complete a full semester's worth of work for three classes in half the time (that's just the way summer semester at BYU-I works, I'm afraid), I haven't exactly had much time for this. Combined with my writers block, and you can basically see why there was a lull lasting for more than a month. But regardless, on with the chapter, and the many answers and mysteries it unfolds!

Special Disclaim: The band mentioned in this chapter is ficticious, created by myself. The titles of their songs and any lyrics I use are also ficticious, of my own creation. At least, I'm pretty sure. With so many songs and such out there today, you never know when you may end up using someone else's band name or a song title or something like that. I mean, I've got two hugely different songs by the same title by different people with different lyrics and...yeah, you get the picture, so I'll shut up now.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Twelve-The Game**

With a repeated flick of the wrist, music sliced through the air around the island of Duelist Academy, somehow overpowering the hundreds of cheers from the students clumped together in a large pack in front of the stage where the band known as Millennium Seven finished up another song.

Grabbing his microphone, the lead singer, Takai, more so howled than spoke, "You guys having a good time?"

The answer came in the form of even louder shouts as the students jumped up and down, begging for more. Only an hour had passed, and the night was still young after all.

"Alright, this next song is a slow song, so guys you better grab yourselves a girl fast. And remember, one of the rules about partner dancing here at Duelist Academy: no ugly girls!" Takai said, his voice suddenly less wild as he brushed some hair out of his face.

The crowd laughed lightly as his joke as teenage boys looked around in an attempt to find partners, while others "inconspicuously" made their way to the tables of food. After all, if you weren't dancing, food was the only really good excuse.

"Alright, this song is called _Guardian of My Heart_, and it's about that friend of yours who wants to be more, but doesn't know how to say. The friend who stands up for you and is an open mind when you're frustrated. Here we go." the rock star explained, moving his fingers to rest over the strings of the electric guitar.

Hanging his head, Kazuki stared into the cup of juice in his hand, the rotating motions of his wrist causing the liquid to swirl slowly, keeping with the pace of the music as the notes began to flow over the island. Dancing was not exactly something he had ever had time or opportunity to practice. Well, no, that wasn't true. He simply had ignored going to dances back in his home down when they were held by his school. The way he put it was "I have too much pride to look and act like a decapitated chicken on hot coals." As such, he just sat and chugged one glass of punch after another, every now and then grabbing some form of sweets from the table three feet behind him.

"Hey, why aren't you dancing?" a voice to his left inquired at the same time that a hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling Kazuki so much that juice flew out of his cup and onto the table, as well as splashing his shirt a bit. Looking to his side, Kazuki was surprised that it was Katsuya Seikai standing barely a foot away from where he sat, his features light and encouraging, yet serious, like a parent making an inquiry of their child.

Returning his gaze to what remained of his beverage, Kazuki didn't answer with words. After all, how could a guy like Old Man Seikai understand?

Apparently more than Kazuki was willing to give him credit for, as he closed his eyes and nodded knowingly. After a few seconds he leaned forward a bit and spoke again, his voice almost sage-like. "It's not that big a deal kid. Just go up to a girl and ask her. Just make sure that you're a man of honor when you do it, and not just some loser punk trying to get in with as many girls as he can. Be sincere, and the girls will love you." Kazuki did not respond.

Sighing, Katsuya stood up to his full height and gave Kazuki a scrutinizing look. "Fine, let me show you."

Pivoting on his heal, he approached the mob of students, quickly picked out a girl with flaming red hair, and extended his arm while giving a formal bow. Blushing, the girl raised a hand to her mouth and giggled lightly before taking the offered arm, and the two quickly joined into the rhythm of the dance.

His eye twitching slightly in annoyance, Kazuki turned away from the sight, staring out to the ocean, and the seemingly endless horizon, littered with glimmering stars and a glowing silver moon hanging high.

'_He makes it look so easy. He must be proud of himself, acting so cool and mature like that.'_ he said to himself. _'I think I'll just keep doing my own thing. I'm not the "hanging out" type of guy.'_

"My falling soul finally lands, It's beside myself that I stand. If only they understood, Into me they can't intrude, Cause I'm united in solitude!"

Surprising himself, Kazuki realized that he had found himself following along with the band as they performed the chorus of the new song they had started playing, _United in Solitude_. Although what he did could hardly be considered singing, since Kazuki had by no stretch of the imagination a talented or trained voice, plus he had more so been muttering the words.

At the same time, he noticed, he had also been tapping his fingers on the table lightly, keeping with the rhythm of the song. It was true that he couldn't sing very well, if at all, but he had a fantastic natural sense of rhythm.

"Wandering the world, I'm disregarded, I'm all alone, left behind and forgotten. Wandering around I'm lost in myself, I fall to my knees, no longer strong enough. It's just me against the tide,

But I wont run and I wont hide," Kazuki continued as the acoustic tune sped up, joined in by a sudden burst of sound from the other instruments as it returned to the chorus.

As the song continued, the Osiris Red slowly turned his head to the other side, slowly sweeping the entire field of students. Surprisingly, he found that many faces he recognized, remembering them from the numerous duels throughout the day. Torisuna Miyato, the strong-willed Ra Yellow who had made a bold statement about the philosophies and nature of dueling. Tokimi Mikamoto, the duelist who had caused quite a tremor with a massive fleet a monsters each with nearly twenty-thousand attack points.

Frowning slightly, Kazuki noticed a small flock of girls crowding around a rather flustered Yue Ryusen, the young genius who had himself created a powerful ice deck which I2 had printed for him. Kazuki himself was unsure if he found the sight of the powerful duelist teetering back and forth as the girls pressed in from different angles, or if he was annoyed that the girls could be that shallow.

Shaking his head and turning his eyes downward a bit, Kazuki caught the last repeat of the chorus. ""My falling soul finally lands, It's beside myself that I stand. If only they understood, Into me they can't intrude, Cause I'm united in solitude!"

Standing in the doorway which led outside from the arena, Eizan found himself facing the CEO of Industrial Illusions and the creator of Duel Monsters, Maximilian Pegasus, his face alight with some amusing thought. Eizan simply stared back, his face soft and kind as ever, though he had no specific physical feature standing out.

"Well Eizan, that was quite the duel." the billionaire broke the silence, his grin growing wider as he did. At the same time his tone sounded so casual and jocular that it even a complete stranger would be able to tell that he was getting at something.

"Indeed it was." the teacher agreed. "They were all spectacular, that they were. The students here are as good as I've ever seen. And you made an impressive choice of opponents for Katsu and myself. We weren't expecting those three, that we were not."

"You're too kind. Truly." Pegasus retorted, eyes closed and head bowing in mock modesty, purposely inflating any sense of flattery he allowed in his words. Then, lifting his eyes his lips twisted just a bit, adding a slight feral edge to his next words. "Yes, far too kind. Especially your students."

"Getting to the matter at hand already?" Eizan questioned. Pegasus just kept on smiling. Turning to look down at the field by the cliff's edge where the dance was taking place, he smiled. "You saw so yourself. He's an amazing duelist with incredible potential, not like that should be any surprise, that it should not. After all, that's why you pulled that little stunt in there."

Gasping and moving his hand to rest against his chest, Pegasus twisted his face up into a look of absolute shock and betrayal. "Eizan my good man, I'm hurt. You would accuse me of trying to go behind our deal just because I wanted to see with my own eyes what the boy could do? How can you do that to me? We've known each other a total of one month, and suddenly you're all paranoid of my ever action! That's just not fair!"

Chuckling lightly at Pegasus' overly dramatic monologue, Eizan once again fixed the businessman with his eyes. "I have done what you asked me to, that I have. You've had your fun now, so if you please be so kind as to complete the deal."

Shaking his head sagely, Pegasus reached into the side pocket of his red suit coat and pulled out an envelope, which he handed off to the professor, who accepted it with a small bow. It was lightweight, but whatever was in the package was stiffer than paper.

"I assume I'll receive the needed data soon?" Pegasus asked, taking the nod of Eizan's head as an answer in the affirmative.

"You know, I really would have done it either way." the coy tycoon said as an afterthought to their brief exchange. "But for me, life would be so boring if it were all so simple as calling someone up, asking a favor, and they do it. I enjoy seeing people work for something, because it lets me measure how badly they want it and how much they will do in order to achieve it. Not only that, but I like to know who I am entrusting such valuables to. Plus, it gave me an excuse to throw a party!"

Laughing aloud, Eizan nodded in agreement with what the other man had said. "Yes, I really must applaud you for throwing this part in. It makes the whole event seem less suspicious, though I don't think anyone would have even suspected someone if we didn't have this."

"Oh, I don't know." Pegasus shot back in a skeptic voice. "After all, Kaiba-boy would have thought it strange if I didn't do something to jazz it up with a bit of culture. Plus, you have some enemies who aren't exactly mindless."

"I guess you are eccentric enough that if you didn't do something extra, it would seem out of the ordinary, that you are. Of course, had we gone with the original terms, it would have been significantly more out of place, and you wouldn't have had your chance to see him in action, that it would." Eizan consented.

"But most importantly," Pegasus said, suddenly very serious, drawing Eizan's eyes from the dance to the businessman's face, which was pointed towards the student. Slowly the I2 president turned to face the teacher, a grave look on his face, shattered seconds later as he split into a huge smile. "I wanted to throw a party!"

Eizan laughed.

Two days later, Kazuki found himself on the way to class, a bit blurry-eyed. Monday's were always like this. No matter how much sleep he got or how early he awoke, he was still groggy until well after sunrise. Sadly, the first rays of light had just pierced through the gray sky about thirty minutes earlier.

Coming up on a corner, he closed his eyes and craned his neck back as another large yawn escaped his lips.

SMACK!

Bouncing back, Kazuki was stunned for a moment from the impact he had just suffered, having ran into something in his moment of blindness.

Rubbing his nose and forehead, he groaned as he realized that he had run into the wall itself. He'd misjudged the turn around the corner, and so his entire body had run up against the concrete surface. Surprisingly it hurt quite a bit, even though he'd been moving at a rather slow pace, even for just walking.

"Ow." he muttered, continuing to massage the sore on his forehead. After a minute more he shifted the weight of his backpack a bit and was about to take the final step forwards before he could turn the corner when unexpectedly, a young man in a Ra Yellow blazer came barreling down the hall, a look of panic on his face as he approached Kazuki from behind.

"Excuse me!" he shouted, though it wasn't enough warning and he stumbled for a moment as he clipped Kazuki on the side before resuming his full-blown run. Unfortunately for Kazuki, this had the side effect of running him back into the wall, this time crashing the left side of his head and shoulder against the hard surface before he rebounded again. "Ow!"

Rubbing his shoulder, Kazuki was about to ask what had happened, but was cut off as a pack of seven or eight older classmen, all in yellow and blue jackets with...pink? Kazuki was unable to register if there truly was a third color somehow mixed into the normal schemes before the one at the front caught him with his flaying arms, once again shoving him forwards into the wall. "Ow!"

Before he could regain his sense, Kazuki was startled as another of the older students passed him, running headlong into Kazuki's backpack, but was barely hindered. Kazuki on the other hand, was caught off guard, the nature of the impact forcing his whole body to start spinning out of control, pulling him away from the wall...and into the mob of charging students, each one passing by without noticing the younger Osiris Red spinning helplessly, barely keeping on his feet.

Once they had all passed, it took Kazuki several seconds to get himself to stop, though the dizziness remained. Holding his head, slouching down to the side slightly and stumbling a few ill-oriented steps, Kazuki tried to bring himself back to his senses.

Breathing in deeply, he picked his head up just in time to see a short Obelisk Blue run straight into him, knocking him back and onto the ground. The Obelisk Blue was also thrown back, but kept his footing and quickly returned to his chase.

"Guys, keep him alive long enough for me to have a few swings at him!" he shouted as he leapt over the downed Osiris Red.

Alone on the floor, Kazuki could think of only one thing to say. "OW!"

"Class, I have what I hope will be a surprise and a pleasure for you today, that I do." Eizan smiled as he pushed a button on the podium and the massive screen rolled down from the ceiling. "I am going to assume that you were at the Festival this weekend, and so you got to see the deck used by Yue Ryusen. For those of you who do not know, Yue created the cards for his deck himself and they were submitted to Industrial Illusions, who were so impressed that they printed him an exclusive copy of the deck and gave him the rights to the royalties for those cards. They will be entering mass production in about two years, that they will."

The students nodded, most of them already familiar with this fact. After all, Yue was the second ranked duelist in the school, right after Rangiku Mitsuhoshi, so it wasn't hard to find someone who could give information about him.

"Well, I have spoken with him, and he has agreed to allow us a look at his original ice deck to see how he constructed it, that he has. He has, of course, created many new cards since, but he didn't feel comfortable revealing so many of his current creations. Still, what we have to work with here is rather impressive still, that it is."

Upon hearing this news, an excited clamor rushed throughout the room. It was a known fact Yue had used a water deck through much of the previous year, until the assignment that would result in the printing of his custom deck. By that time he'd already risen so fast through the ranks that he didn't need very many duels before he earned himself a place amongst the top students of the school. Because of this, not much was known about his cards.

Clicking with the computer mouse, Eizan brought up a chart which displayed three enlarged card images spanned across two columns, each with it's stats and text written clearly next to it. Giving the class a moment to read, he asked, "Can anyone determine one strength we can already see in the deck?"

After a few seconds the question sunk in and hands went up. Pointing to a Ra Yellow in the middle row on the far left, Eizan awaited the answer.

"Well, he balances a few themes, from what I can tell, rather than giving his entire focus to one very specific strategy. It seems he uses rush, effect lock-down, and the occasional effect for destroying cards on the field -particularly magic and trap cards- to open up for a frontal assault. Also, he has effects to act as a contingency plan, not necessarily holding to a specific theme, but allowing him to make up for shortcomings when his normal tactics are on standby. In doing this, he has versatility to adapt to just about any given situation, makes it hard to disrupt his moves, and then break through enemy defenses easily."

"Very well spoken, Jin." Eizan declared as the Ra Yellow took his seat again. "That's very much so the answer to this question, that it is. First, we have his Ice Lancer (1700/1200). This is an interesting monster, since it allows you to sacrifice one face down card on your field to instantly special summon it from either the deck or graveyard. This correlates with what Jin told us about traces of rush elements, that it does. With seventeen hundred attack points, it's a fairly solid attacker, and is excellent when you can pull it from your deck so easily. Plus, it's a useful effect, since there are many ways of utilizing it. There are a number of cards which activate when they go to the cemetery, which would be the normal strategy. Or, if you have a card in your hand that you can't use, or don't intend to use any time soon, you can just quickly set it down, send it to the graveyard, summon a monster, and thin your deck a bit, that you can."

"However, Jin did miss an important theme in this deck. It's most powerful when face down cards are involved. Normally a foolish strategy to target, since there are only so many times you can expect your opponent will summon a monster in defense mode. And if you target face down magic and trap cards, there's generally an overbearing chance that they will be chained in response to an attempt to destroy them."

"But," Eizan continued, pausing for dramatic effect while allowing what he had just said to sink in. "This in and of itself is an advantage, that it is. It would be impractical for a player to have a deck that counters a deck which targets face down cards, since it is the expectation amongst duelists that such an attempt will often be countered in some way, that it is. Jin said that combining a few different strategies, Yue made his deck hard to disrupt. That is mostly true. Not only is it hard to interfere with the strategy of the ice deck, but it's extremely difficult to even hold it back, because it is relentless."

Moving the mouse over a bit, Eizan highlighted the final two lines of text on the card before continuing. "He gave Ice Lancer a powerful effect in the event that he runs up against face down monsters. When it destroys a face down monster, he can deal that monsters defense points as direct damage to the opponents life points, that it can."

"That can't be a fair effect!" a voice interjected, and everyone twisted their head towards the front, where an Osiris Red girl half a dozen seats or so to Kazuki's right was. "I mean, that means that thing could deal all kinds of damage, and it's so cheap."

"Ah, but there are a few counterbalances to that very argument, that there are." Eizan countered. "First off, Ice Lancer only has seventeen hundred attack points. Most monsters played in defense mode will either be set out of desperation, and so will have moderate or few defense points, meaning the damage is quite possibly less than a trample effect would be. At the same time, other monsters played in defense mode will have a defense around two thousand, which is too great for Ice Lancer to beat on his own. Thirdly, some would argue that Ice Lancer's rush effect makes the other effect unfair. However, sacrificing a face down card is actually much harder than discarding a card from your hand or paying life points, and we have all seen those types of card costs unleash extremely deadly effects. Finally, the monster must be face down, meaning if Ice Lancer is summoned mid-duel, there wont be much chance to go after such monsters."

Hanging her head, the girl who had objected became rather quiet, beaten on this subject.

Smiling, Eizan nodded at her. "It was a reasonable objection, Tenya, that it was." Turning back to the screen, he said, "However, I just got off topic. Card Creation is Professor Kita's class. Moving on..."

An hour later, the class was on their way out the door when Kazuki felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he was greeted by Eizan's kind face. "You will be coming tonight to start work, correct?"

"Yeah, of course." Kazuki nodded, remembering the deal he had been offered.

"Excellent, that is." Eizan smiled. "Very well, please be in my office by seven o'clock." Nodding again, Kazuki turned back towards the door and exited, leaving Eizan alone in the large room.

"Not much time, Kazuki. This wont be easy, that it will not. But, I have faith in you. I'm a teacher, you are the student. If I believe in you, and you believe in yourself, and we give it our all, you will be ready for this."

Resting his elbow on his knee and his chin in his pal, Eizan gave a scrutinizing look at the board in front of him. It was his move, and he had suddenly found himself in a rather unusual situation.

"I've become rather soft, it would seem." he lamented as he picked up his knight and captured the black bishop. "I've become accustomed to critical thinking opponents who are extremely cautious with resources. You, on the other hand, have no trouble making trades that, by all logical means, are the most absurd, that you do."

"It comes with being a billionaire." Pegasus responded, picking up a glass of wine from the side of the table where the chess board was set up. "You learn to recklessly spend what seems like a priceless amount, but in the end you get the real prize." Setting the glass down, he picked up his rook and took the offending knight.

"Yes, it makes it nearly impossible to judge your exact actions, that it does." Eizan responded. "But even then, a well developed plan can cut through the mess you leave behind because of your impulsiveness. It's just much harder, especially when you're used to opponents who want to use formations and traps against you. It's extremely difficult to adopt and entirely new mode of judgement for facing those few who are crazy enough to use up six of their pawns in the first few turns just to break up enemy ranks, that it does."

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Pegasus asked, his voice resonating with curiosity. "Or just distract me? Or perhaps you're attempting to get me distracted through intimidation."

"I am simply saying that I'm being forced to gamble by a strategy that I myself could never adopt, that I am." Eizan answered as he reached for a piece, stopping when the sound of a knock at the door filled the room. "Enter, please."

Looking up and across the office, Eizan was pleased to see Kazuki enter.

"Oh, sorry Professor. I didn't know you had company. If I did I would have waited out...side..." Kazuki said, his voice suddenly becoming lost as Pegasus turned around in his seat. "Uh...I should step outside, shouldn't I?"

"Nonsense, my boy." Pegasus beamed. "I was just about to best your teacher in a mortal combat of the minds. He has put up a noble struggle, but that's the joy of conquest, isn't it? Dismantling the opponents strategies with something they can't expect."

"Uh..." Kazuki suddenly began to notice a shift in the temperature from mild to sweltering, causing him to perspire. "I...uh...I mean, absolutely. And, um...you did ask _me_, right?"

"Kazuki," Eizan spoke, his tone reassuring. "Relax. I'll be with you in a moment. We're in the end game right now." Picking up his only remaining pawn and using it to take Pegasus second bishop. To this, the card designer raised an eyebrow.

"That's an interesting move. But perhaps you are trying to catch me off guard, just as I did when we started; to distract me and make me believe you have some alternative plan set up."

"I leave that to your judgement, that I do." Eizan smiled back, a confident smile beginning to form on his face. Then, looked up and past Pegasus he addressed the student, "You may want to take a seat before you pass out, that you may."

Startled out of his shock, Kazuki sat down behind the desk and watched as Pegasus rubbed his chin for a moment before moving his rook from the previous turn to the back line, which was empty for all but one piece-the white king.

"Check."

Sighing, Eizan moved his queen to the space directly between the king and the castle. Now, if Pegasus wanted to strike, he'd have to give up his rook, and currently he was running low on pieces.

"Ah, trying to force me to a standstill back there for the moment, is that it?" the tycoon mused. "Well then, I guess I'll just move my king back here, and end." Sliding the black piece backwards a square, the turn passed to Eizan.

"Pegasus, it's been a wonderful game, but I'm afraid I must get back to work. So, within these next two turns, it ends."

"Your pawn is the only piece you can move." Pegasus pointed out. "For should you move your queen, it opens your king to my rook. If you attack with your queen, you will then be left with nothing. If you move your king, he is vulnerable once again. So, what will you do with a pawn?"

"I believe in the potential of a pawn to be guided by the player in order to become an instrumental figure with amazing power, that I do." Eizan replied, picking the small piece up. Instantly Pegasus realized his intention, and simply closed his eyes and chuckled, though he did nothing to impede Eizan.

"I use the rule of promotion to train my pawn to become a second queen." Eizan declared. "And that alone makes for checkmate." Nodding at the board, both Kazuki and Pegasus checked what he said, and indeed it was true. His king had been pinned against the back edge of the board by Eizan's first queen, and he hadn't realized it. Now his king was effectively pinned on all sides, and the game was decided.

"Ah, excellent game, Eizan." Pegasus smiled. "Sadly, chess was never my true forte." Rising from his chair, he turned to Kazuki. "You have an amazing teacher, my friend. I recommend you learn from him as much as you can, and not just in the classroom."

Downing the last gulp of his wine, he dropped the glass into the trash, not bothering to take it with him. With a quick bow, he withdrew.

Staring after the billionaire's departure for a few minutes, Kazuki finally turned back to his teacher, a confused look on his face. "What was that?"

Smiling, Eizan walked over to a filing cabinet and began to search for the proper drawer. "Mr. Pegasus wanted to stay a few extra days and see how the Academy operates, that he did. As for him being in my office, he said he was impressed by the display I put on last Friday, and that he wanted to pit his intellect against mine. Sadly, I didn't have time for a duel, so he consented to our chess game. Regrettably, I got so involved in it that I failed to notice that it went for more than an hour, and I have now fallen behind, that I have."

"So...erm, what am I doing?" Kazuki asked, rising from his seat and walking around to the cabinet.

"I'll be grading papers, that I will." Eizan explained, returning to his desk, motioning to two stacks of papers, one nearly six inches deep and the other only about half an inch. "So I would like for you to please input the grades into the computer, if you could. Also, I will need you to file them." Motioning over to a small table against the wall with a laptop on it. "I've already set up that computer for you to do that. So, if you could please take your stack over and get started, we can hopefully have the entire set done before the night ends."

Nodding, Kazuki reached for the smaller stack of papers, but stopped when he noticed that none of them had any kind of markings on them. Picking one up, he examined it, looking to see where the grade that he would enter was. Looking up to Eizan, he was about to ask what to put in, but his question was known before he could even open his mouth.

"That's my stack, that it is."

Hanging his head, Kazuki put the stack of paper back and grabbed the significantly larger one and hefted them over to the small table. After about forty minutes of clicking around he was able to somewhat (though not much) familiarize himself with the system, and began sifting through the stack, looking for names or scores.

As he set the thirty-seventh paper aside, Kazuki reached for the stack without looking, grabbing at the corner of the paper, only to feel it pull back, as if heavier than the few he'd already done. Glancing over at it, he blanched when he saw that it had to be at least fifteen pages thick! Single spaced! Not only that, but the margins looked like they may have been stretched a bit to allow all of the content to fit on those pages instead of spilling just a little onto a sixteenth.

"This is crazy." he muttered aloud. After all, the longest paper he had thus far seen had been barely over two pages. This one was more than five times that length. Intrigued, he looked at the paper more closely, checking the title and student who had written it.

"'_Thesis On the True Duelist_,'" he breathed, completely inaudible. Looking underneath the title, he was both surprised and yet, not really, to see the name of the writer. "Yue Ryusen. Well, those girls did say he was a genius, but this is something completely different from what I would have expected."

"Did you say something, Kazuki?" the student jumped, having forgotten that he was not alone in the office. Looking up from his seat over to Eizan, he laughed nervously at having lost his composure so completely.

"Oh. Uh, no, I'm fine. Really." the Osiris Red stammered, dropping the report onto his lap and waving his hands defensively. "Just a little interesting by the length of this report by Mr. Yue Ryusen." Eizan smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Yue is quite a unique student, that he is. He is one example of what I refer to in my mind as an Ideal Student." Kazuki raised an eyebrow at this, not sure how else to respond.

With a look of understanding, Eizan continued. "Yue is the sort of student any teacher hopes all of those under their direction could be like, in one way or another. He is dedicated to the work he does. He does the work not just to get through school, but because he wants to. He does what is needed, and then goes beyond that. He doesn't just learn the curriculum for the sake of pleasing any tests, but so that he can actually accumulate knowledge and grow, that he does. However, it goes deeper than that, that it does."

Leaning in with a look of interest, Kazuki seemed to forget about inputting grades, giving his full attention to what his teacher had to say. "He has a goal, and he is genuinely interested in doing the work to reach that. He doesn't let life itself hold him down, and he works as hard as he possibly can to master all subjects, not just those that he apply directly to his field or study or personal interests, that he does."

"That's your ideal?" Kazuki asked, unsure how to interpret that.

"That's one ideal, yes, that it is." the professor said. "However, I do not believe there is any one, single, specific formula for bringing forth a shining generation, that I do not. If I did, I would keep faith for the hundreds of new students I meet each year, and I would not lament within my soul each time I see another student fail themself because they weren't willing to tap their own potential."

Scratching the back of his head, Kazuki gave Eizan a scrutinizing look before saying, "I'm not sure I can believe all that."

Chuckling lightly, Eizan grabbed another essay and his blue pen and began to skim. "It would not be fair of me to expect that you could so soon, that it would not."

Shrugging, Kazuki turned back to the paper on his lap, his eyes widening as he noticed something he hadn't the first time he'd taken a look. _'This is for a level four hundred class! It's for only the most advanced and promising students!'_ Looking from the title page over to the computer, he pulled up one of the files from the bottom of the screen pertaining to that class. _'Since there are only three years here at the Academy, most students complete classes up through level three hundred, and some in their third year get the chance to take one or two classes in the four hundred range. However, Yue is a second year!'_

Looking at the student roster for the desired class, he was rather surprised to see there were less than fifteen names on the list. What surprised him, though, were that he recognized some of them. _'Mitsuhoshi, Rangiku; Mikamoto, Tokimi; Ryusen, Yue; Seikai, Katsuaya...'_ his eyes shot back and forth._ 'So, that's why they're all so strong. Of course it makes sense that the top two students in the school would be in such a class. And from what I saw of Tokimi and Katsuya, that's no surprise either. Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if either one of them made it into the top three when Rangiku graduates. Plus, isn't the current third ranked also graduating at the end of the year? Maybe both of them will make it.'_

Shaking his head, grinning all the while, Kazuki checked Yue's grade (A perfect score of one hundred forty points), then continued down the stack.

An hour and a half later, Kazuki sleepily dropped his index and middle fingers onto the Enter key, finalizing the last grade for the night.Stretching his arms out wide, he yawned and blinked his eyes a few times, realizing just how tired he had become as a result of the rather redundant task he'd been set upon.

Rising to his feet, he hoisted the stack of papers and made his way over to the filing cabinet and began to look for the appropriate drawer. He had been horrified while actually entering the grades to find that the assignments weren't in any sort of order at all. As a result, he had needed to organize them as best as he could during the process. Of course, his best only resulted in them being ordered by class, meaning he still had to put them in alphabetical order while filing.

Another half hour later, Kazuki was slamming the final drawer shut and then rubbed his eyes, annoyed. _'He has no sense of order whatsoever! How can you call that a filing system? Half of the folders don't even have names on them!'_ he ranted to himself, making sure to keep from making his annoyance known out lout.

'_But still,'_ he continued, his tone changing to one of wonder. _'Who is this guy? He's a teacher at the Academy, meaning he has to have a degree. He's a fearsome duelist, even though his deck doesn't seem to have much in terms of offensive power. And now, he teaches more classes than any other faculty member? Not only that, but he teaches dueling classes on all levels, not just those for first years. How could one person, especially someone as young as him, be capable of so much?'_

Rubbing his chin while watching the teacher, Kazuki frowned when Eizan sneezed exceptionally hard, throwing himself backwards and out of his chair. _'And yet, he sometimes seems like such a fool...'_ he pondered, a dumbfound look on his face.

Picking himself up off of the floor, laughing lightly, Eizan looked over at Kazukiwhile rubbing just under his nose.

"My apologies, Kazuki. I guess someone was just now talking about me and how great a teacher I am, that they were." Kazuki sweat dropped.

"Anyway," the older man said, rising to his feet and brushing the dust off of his black slacks. "I think that's enough for one night, don't you? It's getting rather late, that it is." Nodding, Kazuki rose to his feet and made for the door, but was stopped when Eizan called suddenly, "One more thing before you go, Kazuki."

To add to the surprise from the sudden call, Kazuki noted that his teacher's voice was mysteriously lacking in its usual light-heartedness. It was still a kind voice, sincere and gentle, but at the same time there was an inner intensity and obviously much more serious. Turning cautiously, unsure how to react to the fact that his teacher was suddenly so different, Kazuki's eyes widened when he noticed that the silver haired mans face had become rather stern, though like his voice it maintained his usual kindness. Still, it was new and surprising, and very much unlike the man Kazuki had come to know over the past month.

"Kazuki, there is something very important that I have been asked to tell you, that there is." the teacher sighed, perking his student's curiosity. "I believe that you were given a letter when you left the entrance exam, telling you that there were some interesting circumstances which you would be informed of at a later point, yes?" Kazuki nodded.

Sighing again, seeming distraught, Eizan sat down on his desk and motioned to one of the chairs, which Kazuki slowly found himself setting into, keeping his eyes on the professor. For the first time, in Kazuki's mind, Eizan looked to be older one would expect, nearly thirty or so instead of twenty-two or twenty-three.

"There was some...opposition to your acceptance into the Academy, that there was." the older man broke the uneasy silence. "Because you lost your duel, it was believed by someone that you were not yet ready to attend the school. Such criticism was opposed by many of the faculty, and eventually the one who tried to prevent you from being accepted was removed from his position, that he was. However..."

Eizan suddenly stopped and turned his head to his desk, ignoring any chance of looking at Kazuki. _'This isn't right. Why, Dayu? Why him?'_ He didn't like what had to be said. He hated what had to be done. But be done it must. Breathing in deeply, he forced himself to look at his student and spoke as boldly as he could.

"However, something unexpected happened. The one who opposed your admittance apparently has deeply-rooted connections with the board of directors for the school. Using those connections, he managed to force those of us who supported you to accept a proposal, that he did."

"Proposal?" Kazuki asked, unsure of what to make of all this. Some big internal political struggle? Over him!

"Yes." Eizan reaffirmed. "You were allowed admittance to the Academy for one year. In this time you are expected to learn and progress as much as you can. You are required to win your way into the ranks of the top five duelists at the Academy by the end of the year, that you are."

Kazuki stared. "Top five!" he screamed. "That's crazy! With my current record, it can't be done. There's no way, with all the duels I've lost this month, that I could get myself from Osiris Red into the top five!" Eizan continued to fix him with that penetrating stare of his, sincerely empathetic for Kazuki's fear, but at the same time confident.

"At the end of the year, you will be in a special exhibition duel against one of our third year students before the special Graduation Duel is held. It is with this duel that you will be able to win your place. If you can defeat your opponent, you will automatically be granted any points needed for you to earn the rank of fifth strongest in the school, that you will." he explained. As an afterthought he added "It wont be against anyone currently in the top five. It'll be someone who would be a potential candidate to fill one of the holes in the top five being left by the third years who currently hold that standing."

Kazuki again stared in unbelief. "How am I supposed to beat someone being considered for a top rank in the school?"

"Because," Eizan replied sternly. "I believe in you, that I do. I am certain you can win this duel, if you are willing to accept your weaknesses and work to overcome them. It is my personal belief, Kazuki, that if the teacher is willing to stand by his pupil, and the student gives everything he possibly can, then even a student who is the most rugged stone on the surface and be refined into the most pure and cleanly polished gemstone, that it is."

Rising to his feet, Kazuki shouted, "I CAN'T DO IT! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I KEEP ON LOSING! IF I CAN'T EVEN BEAT A FIRST YEAR RA YELLOW, HOW AM I GOING TO WIN WHEN MY OPPONENT IS A GRADUATING OBELISK BLUE!"

"Kazuki," Eizan sighed again, hanging his head. "Would you rather have been denied your chance to get into the Academy to begin with?" The boy stopped cold, having somehow not realized the simple logic behind the whole incident. Rising calmly so that he once again looked down on the boy, Eizan spoke again.

"Kazuki, if you want to overcome whomever you duel, you must get stronger, this is true. It will be more difficult than anything you could imagine. It's unreasonable to expect this of a first year student. However, I already told you that I believe in you. It's time you believed that yourself, that it is."

"But...but I..." Kazuki stammered, not sure what to say.

"Kazuki," Eizan smiled, albeit very weakly. "Haven't you noticed that in every single duel you've been in, you've been on the verge of victory, only to have it taken from you at the last minute? It never mattered if your opponent was another an entrance exam proctor or an exceptional Obelisk Blue like Katsuya, you still were on the precipice of victory, that you were."

Stunned, Kazuki's eyes widened as he heard these words. He had never considered it before, but now that it was mentioned...Eizan was right. How many times had he been just inches from going in for the kill, to have it lightly snatched out from under him by a desperation attempt by his opponent?

"Why is that?" he found himself asking, the only question he could think of.

Sighing again, Eizan placed a hand on Kazuki's shoulder and looked him straight in the eye. As he did this, Kazuki noticed that a new emotion had entered those silver orbs. What was it? It was as if Eizan had in his eyes something Kazuki had seen time after time when he'd been looking in a mirror, but as to what he could not tell.

"Kazuki, you lose because you are not connected to your cards the way a duelist should be. You and your cards are out of synch, that you are, and so you hold a role of dominance over them rather than working together with them. Because of this, they do not respond to you, that they do not. Beyond that, your soul itself is out of synch, especially in how you regard the deck you currently use. You resent them, and so you block your mind off from being able to carry through with your brilliance. In other words, you have been defeating yourself all this time, that you have."

"I don't understand." Kazuki responded. "What's weird mysticism got to do with me as a duelist? And even if my cards were alive like that, why would they reject me? Or why would I reject them? And what do you mean by I've been beating myself?"

"Because, Kazuki," Eizan said, his voice once again becoming strict. "They aren't your cards. That's not your deck at all."

"What are you talking about?" Kazuki shot back, suddenly becoming defensive. "I've had this deck for years. These cards were given to me, so of course they're mine!"

"No, Kazuki, that's not how it works at all. That deck was left to you by your father. He built it, became a champion using it, and then abandoned you and your mother without a word when you were just a child, leaving that deck as the only proof he ever existed in your home to begin with, that he did. Those are still his cards, because he never truly passed them on to you. Not only that, but you still resent him, and in so doing, you resent your cards, that you do." the professor declared, suddenly becoming rather frightening.

At least, frightening to those who knew him. It was likely that if not suddenly seized by rage, Kazuki would have fled in terror. Instead, he clenched his fists angrily as blood and adrenaline began to pump swiftly through his veins.

"You don't have a damned clue what the hell you're talking about!" Kazuki screamed before bolting for the door.

"Yes I do, Kazuki!" Eizan called, slowing the boy at the door with his voice. Slowly, the student turned his head to glare at his teacher, the doorknob already twisted in his grasp. "I knew your father very well. He was a good friend of mine, that he was. He-" he was cut off as Kazuki wrenched the door open and shot into the hall, running as fast as he could.

'_Dayu, you haven't won yet.'_ the lone teacher vowed to himself. _'Kazuki will realize what needs to be done, and accept the facts for what they are. And when that day comes, I will show you what distinguishes you and I.'_

Slumping into his chair, seemingly exhausted, Professor Kiske reached for a picture he had standing in a thick frame in the corner of his desk. It showed him smiling brightly, standing tall next to the usually grim-faced Katsu Yoriyoi. However, they both appeared to be much younger, and Katsu was dressed differently from usual. He was in khaki's and a lightweight silver blazer hanging open over a black undershirt. Over the left pocket of the shirt was the badge of a professional duelist sponsored by an independent.

Grimly, the teacher reached for the picture, but instead of picking it up, he simply tugged on the frame, which opened like a book. Inside was a different picture. It was of himself in his late teenage years in a black jacket and blue shirt, standing next to a man with faded black hair cut short and spiked up, dressed in a scarlet blazer over a gold colored shirt. The jackets they both wore seemed to reach down to their knees. One couldn't be sure, since their lower bodies were completely cut off by a strip of white paper with some black scribbles running across it.

"'To Professor Eizan Kiske, a powerful warrior who wants to live a peaceful dream. My only rival. Signed: Itzika Katsura.'" he read the memorized autograph before his eyes looked back at the picture. Both he and the man next to him were holding white slips of paper, both having similar black scribbles on them, though the handwriting was obviously very different.

Even without being able to actually read the paper the stranger in the picture held, Eizan still knew what it said exactly. "'To Itzika Katsura, a man of the ages. May you enjoy the dawn of your professional dueling career, but never forget everything I have strived to teach you. Signed: Eizan Kiske; Former Champion and Future Professor.'"

_To Be Continued..._

There you finally have it! The plot (well, a big chunk of it), as well as many mysteries, revealed!

_Next Time-Kazuki finds himself tormented by demons of his past as memories of a life he left behind come back to haunt him. As a result, his focus begins to slip and he begins to lose himself to despair. To show him a way out, Yue Ryusen, boy genius and patented card designer, steps forward in a duel against Professor Katsu Yoriyoi to show Kazuki what lays ahead of him._

_Next Time-The Frozen Heart_


	13. The Frozen Heart

Here we are again! I apologize without shame to my readers. College is insane, especially when you need to cover sixteen weeks of work into eight weeks. Plus I had massive writers block, and my job results in a lot of fatigue, so I've spent a lot of time passed out on my bed...or chairs in buildings all across campus.

On another note, I would like to first point out that I have three forums set up here on Please, go take a look at _all_ of them. They've been there for a while, and I only two posts have been made. I'm sure you can find something to post on at least two or three of the threads.

Also, I would like to remind you all about the character portraits. I currently have a good number done, so if you want nifty data on a character, as well as their theme song, let me know. If it's one that I don't yet have, I'll make one. But seriously, I made them so that you people could have them, so I encourage you to ask me for them.

**The Way of the Dreamer**

**Chapter Thirteen-The Frozen Heart**

Sliding the file drawer shut, Eizan sighed and wiped a hand down his face, fatigue evident. It wasn't that this particular day had been any worse than any previous, just that it was the end of the day, and no human body can go on forever.

It had been just over a week since he'd spoke with Kazuki about the position that had been forced onto the boy. Ten days since the young boy had finally admitted that he felt like the cards were stacked against him and that he was a failure. A week and a half since he'd been able to even speak to his student.

Ever since that night, Kazuki had taken great efforts to evade Eizan. He'd started showing up to class just before the lecture began and leaving the moment class was dismissed. When he saw Eizan in the hallways he would instantly veer off in a completely different direction. Even when Eizan had attempted to catch him at his dorm, he'd just barricaded himself in his room and refused entrance to anyone, and Eizan lacked the authority or circumstances to force entry.

"He apparently has a great deal on his mind, that he does." the teacher mused to himself. "It must be hard to be faced with all of that. After all, if what I've heard is correct, he hasn't heard from Itzika in nine years. No doubt those emotional scars run deep, that they must."

Sitting down in the chair behind his desk, Eizan crossed his arms over his stomach and leaned back, staring at the chess board on the table several feet away. He had been an accomplished player of the game since he was young, having been taught by his father. He probably could have gone on to take a number of local championships had he wanted to, but the thought had never come to him back in those days.

When he reached his teen years he adapted the foresight, insight, and the numerous other skills one gained when they became an effective chess player, and used them to become an exceptional duelist. He began to attend tournaments, taking various titles and learning more and more with each game he played. He lost often, but eventually he began to pull himself together, never giving up and always trying to find some lesson within every match he participated in, and using that grew stronger.

Then, before long he met up with Itzika Katsura, who was many years older than he was, and quite a talented duelist. However, Itzika had never been able to get beyond the upper rounds of the regional tournaments. He was headstrong and naive, relying almost entirely on his talent and the effective deck he had assembled in order to get as far as he could.

He was a decent man, in Eizan's mind. He was well-mannered, caring, and above all else passionate for his dreams. He was determined to be recognized by all as a duelist, and he refused to let any loss get in his way. Perhaps that passion was what attracted the fair Ayame Kurosuki to him. Their first and only child, Kazuki, was born just under a year after their wedding.

Despite the age gap, Eizan somehow found himself as the mentor of the older duelist, teaching him techniques and strategies, trying to get his mind working. They would meet at tournaments and Eizan would give a rather informal lesson of sorts about planning ahead or using cards in elaborate combinations, which Itzika held onto fervently, his determination to see his dream realized fueling him every step of the way.

Surprisingly, it worked. Itzika began to improve rapidly, and by the time his young son was five, he was one of Japans top ranked duelists, and was headed towards international ranks. He had finally earned the recognition he desired, as well as the resources to support his family.

Realizing the success of his training, Eizan himself realized that he had a talent for teaching, and so he retired from professional dueling when he was only nineteen to go to college, where he worked nonstop, three semesters a year, to get a teaching degree, and from there entered Duelist Academy.

However, something had gone wrong. Shortly after leaving the professional circuit, Eizan heard that Itzika had suddenly up and abandoned his family, leaving his entire savings from countless tournaments with them, as well as abdicating his deck to his son.

"He left without any known reason. He abandoned a blossoming life, his dreams in the process of becoming reality, and he didn't even have the courage to come and talk to me first, that he did not." Eizan spoke aloud to himself.

Shifting around in his seat, the teacher sighed deeply. "Itzika, I don't know why you would so foolishly give up everything. That is not what I taught you. And so, I will uphold my ideals and I will make amends to myself for failing you by making sure your son creates his own legacy, that I will."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Lying on his bed, fingers woven behind his neck, Kazuki stared up at the ceiling of his room, his face void of emotions. This was how he had spent the past several days, when he wasn't in class or doing schoolwork. They were decent distractions, though the mos recent test had resulted in a less than stellar grade. That and his last few essays and other such assignments had all seen a serious decay in quality, going from his usual A's to C's.

Some of his teachers had expressed their concern for him, though he just shrugged them off, insisting that he just hadn't understood the most recent curriculum and that he needed to try harder and study more.

"Yeah, right." he groaned in a low voice. "I could have walked all over those assignments if I could concentrate! But how am I supposed to focus when I just found out that I have one year to prepare myself to take on one of the top duelists in the school? Gah!" he twisted violently on his bed, as if struck by some sort of spasm.

After a minute, he calmed down again, rubbing his eyes, more so out of frustration than fatigue. It had been nearly two weeks since Professor Kiske had told him about the deal that had been struck to allow him to enter the Academy, and now he felt as if he were just running around in circles, chasing his own tail. He kept on trying to make sense of everything, but he just had too many conflicting thoughts!

"I have one year to get stronger, or else I'm out. I don't want to get thrown out! I couldn't deal with that! So I have to win, but Professor Kiske says that with my current deck I could never win. He says that because of that miserable worm who is my father I can't win! What am I supposed to do, then!"

To his rambles he received no answer outside of the wind swaying the trees outside. Growling in frustration again, Kazuki grabbed a pillow and pulled it over his face, snarling as loud as he could into it.

After a few minutes of silence, he removed the puffy block, stood up, grabbed his jacket and key, and made his way for the door. "Air. Just...gimme some air."

XXXXXXXXX

Yue Ryusen was a the kind of kid most parents wanted their children to be like, the kind of students most teachers wanted in their classroom, and the kind of guy that most people wanted to be friends with. He was good-natured and hardworking, combining his natural talents with the skills he gained from experience. He didn't degrade anyone, and normally pushed people to be their best.

He was also tall, handsome, physically fit, popular, a genius, and quite wealthy in terms of teenagers, having received a large stipend from Industrial Illusions when he had agreed to let them use his card designs.

Thanks to a combination of these gifts, he was extremely skilled at the game of Duel Monsters, and so had earned himself the rank of number two duelist in the Academy. That title had brought the admiration of many, as well as the affection of a large portion of the female population of the campus.

However, right at the current moment he was not worried about any of that. Right now he was enjoying a casual conversation with his ambitious classmate, Katsuya Seikai. Classes were done for the day, and now it was just time to enjoy the fading sunlight and the air as it steadily cooled. This was Yue's favorite time of the day, even though fall was approaching and so it was getting much colder. Despite this, he just lay on his back, the sleeves of his jacket rolled up a bit and hands behind his head, eyes closed.

Pulling on the hem of his Obelisk Blue blazer, Katsuya let loose a satisfied sigh. "Damn, this uniform makes me look good. A definite plus-two on my Stud Factor, ne?"

"Seikai, you are easily the best-dressed guy in the school." Yue responded, his voice friendly but also sounding lazy. "I don't know of anyone else who irons their uniform at night just before bed, then again in the morning even though there's no way for it to get wrinkled while you sleep, and then irons it again at least once during the day. Of course the uniform looks good."

"Yeah, but I mean, it looks particularly good on _me_, don't you think, sport?"

Sighing, Yue refused to open his eyes. He simply nodded his head, which was enough for Katsuya, who turned to look down the hill to the cliffs which encircled the island. Interestingly enough, he noticed something he hadn't before, thanks to the glare from the sun when he'd last been looking in that direction fifteen minutes ago. "Hey, Yue."

"Hm?" came the lackadaisical response.

"It's that kid, down there on the cliff." Katsuya explained, pointing a few hundred feet ahead of himself where, sitting on the cliff's edge was Kazuki, occasionally hurling a rock he had picked up from the ground around him into the water hundreds of feet bellow.

"Seikai," Yue sighed. "To you, everyone is a kid. Could you be a bit more descriptive, please?"

"You could just take some action yourself, sit up and take a look. It wouldn't kill you, you know." Katsuya pointed out. When Yue showed that he had no intention of doing just as Katsuya had suggested, the other Blue sighed and explained, "It's that Kazuki kid I dueled at the Festival. But it's strange, he looks kind of down in the dumps about something."

"Oh really?" Yue asked, somehow managing to sound both interested and uninterested at the same time.

"Yeah, just kinda sitting there by himself, throwing rocks over the edge. What do you make of it?"

"Well," Yue grunted, finally picking himself up and opening his eyes. "I'd guess that, based on the fact that he's by himself and all, that he's probably got something hefty on his mind and it's starting to drain him emotionally. Since he's throwing the rocks, I think it's pretty obvious that he's trying to decide what to do about whatever it is that's on his mind. Then, since he's actually sitting down I'd say he's getting rather frustrated and doesn't feel like he has the energy to stay on his feet."

Katsuya simply stared.

"You're just trying to show off, aren't you?" he finally demanded.

"Let's find out, shall we?" Yue smiled, rising to his feet and making his way down the slight hill towards the islands edge. Without anything else to do, Katsuya rose to his feet and followed.

"Good for you, Yue. You realize that as the boys senior as a duelist, student, and age, that it is your responsibility to extend a charitable and helping hand. That's rather mature of you." Katsuya commended as he adjusted his blue bandanna over his hair.

"If you say so." Yue called over his shoulder.

Unaware of the two approaching upper classmen, Kazuki picked up another rock and tossed it down the side of the cliff. He'd been doing this for nearly twenty minutes now, and to his annoyance it wasn't helping him to feel any better.

"How could they do this to me? It's not possible for me to win!" he snarled at the amber horizon.

"What was that?" a voice from behind him asked, causing him to jump a bit. Turning his head, he raised an eyebrow to the fact that Yue Ryusen and Katsuya Seikai were looking down at him, looks of interest dancing in their eyes.

Unable to shake the shock that two of the Academies best duelists were actually taking the time to acknowledge his existence, Kazuki let his mouth simply hang open for a minute. Then, when he finally could speak again he found himself asking a rather stupid question. "What?"

Hanging his head in his palm with a sigh, Katsuya murmured something about "Younguns" and how they were always so caught up in themselves that they needed everything repeated to them. To this Kazuki simply raised an eyebrow and uttered a hesitant and confused "yeah".

"Don't mind Old Man Seikai," Yue reassured Kazuki. "He tends to expect everyone to have the maturity of an old man, minus any bladder control problems." At hearing this, Katsuya opened his mouth as if to object, but cut himself off, since Yue wasn't paying him any attention. "But seriously, what's on your mind..." he paused, giving Kazuki a scrutinizing look, trying to remember something. "Kazuki, that's it!"

"The system sucks, that's what's wrong." Kazuki huffed, turning back to the ocean. To this, Katsuya and Yue glanced at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"That's not exactly the most helpful explanation." Yue pressed on, much to the surprise of his compatriot, who was fully ready to give it up and walk away.

"Yue, I don't think he's all that interested in talking about it." Katsuya commented, but again was ignored as the second ranked duelist asked again, and again was brushed off by the Osiris Red.

"Kazuki, please." Yue pressed a third time, even though his eyes had shifted over to Katsuya, who was about to speak when Yue cut him off. "As upper classmen, especially ones of our level, it's our unwritten obligation to help him out."

"There's nothing you could do." Kazuki sudden piped. "The cards are stacked against me, both in terms of the opposition and on my end. It's a hopeless situation."

"Not necessarily." Yue countered. "It only seems that everything against you, but that's just because you're only one guy with only one perspective. Things'll work out."

"You don't know that." Kazuki shot back, though his stare remained fixed on the water. "You didn't have a track record like mine and then end up in a position that means you have to make it to the top by the end of the year. You've always been an awesome duelist with an awesome deck."

Surprised by this, Yue wasn't quite sure what to say. After all, Kazuki was right in regards to his success. Thankfully, Katsuya came to his rescue.

"Kid, you're quite the duelist yourself. You gave me one hell of a time in our duel, and I'm already towards the top in terms of my rank. So for you to work your way in should be no trouble. You just need to apply yourself, get some confidence, and then start kicking ass. Get'em, tiger!"

Kazuki sweat dropped.

"You just don't get it. I just need some time to myself." Rising to his feet, he took off at a brisk walk towards his dorm. In his wake he left a rather perturbed Yue and Katsuya.

"Brat needs to grow up a bit; take a few lessons in humility, I say." Katsuya commented with a slight sneer. "Well, that's the Boy Scout good deed of the day wasted, so what shall we do next? I'm all about going to dinner, how about you?"

Yue did not verbally respond, simply looked after Kazuki's retreating form, a glimmering light of thought in his eyes. _'Hopeless situation, hm?'_

XXXXXXXXXX

"Class, today I have an...interesting event for you." Katsu said as the talking died down, adjusting his glasses as he did. "It has been requested that I participate in another special exhibition duel, right here and now."

A sudden air of light anticipation filled the room after these words were spoken. Everyone remembered quite well how amazing their teacher had been several weeks earlier against three professional duelists. It seemed almost ludicrous for any _student_ to challenge Katsu Yoriyoi.

"Normally, I would not do this." Katsu admitted, placing his arms behind his back and walking out from behind his podium. "As many of you should know, I was once a professional duelist myself, having left that field two years ago to pursue a career as a teacher, passing along my experience and knowledge to the next generation. As such, I am confident, though I do hope not boastful, that my skills are quite acute. Because of this, I rarely use my personal deck or all of my skills anymore. I participated in the Duel Festival because it was a challenge by Maximilian Pegasus himself, and as a favor to a friend."

Taking a minute to let this sink in, Katsu reached for a small pouch on his belt, unfastened the top, and withdrew a deck of cards. Holding the stack in his palm, he began to rapidly shuffle, his face betraying no emotions, as was the norm for him.

"However, after hearing the challenge, and taking into consideration the duelist who issued it, I have decided I will do it. I will duel with my true power, but I expect you all to be observing carefully, using this as a learning experience."

Walking over to his podium, Katsu drew a duel disk out from the cabinet that was engineered into its frame before tapping a few commands, causing the stand to sink into the floor and then cover up with a sliding steel panel. Strapping the device onto his arm and inserting his deck, Katsu took his place on the stage. (KLP:4000)

"My opponent will be one whom you are all very familiar with; Yue Ryusen!" There was a wave of cheers from the students, though it was quite under control rather than the rabid support the ice-user had received at the Duel Festival. Possibly because there weren't as many girls as there had been at that time. Regardless, the popular Obelisk Blue made his way onto the field from where he had been waiting in an annex behind the room, duel disk and deck already in place. (YLP:4000)

'_Watch, Kazuki. I'll show you and everyone else that even in a desperate situation, dueling with your entire heart and soul can unlock incredible strength, and that the situation is only as hopeless as you allow it to be in your mind.'_ Yue vowed in his mind before drawing an opening hand.

"Professor Yoriyoi, I thank you for giving me this chance. Shall we?" he asked, his eyes burning with an icy flame. Katsu nodded, drawing his own hand of five.

'_This is bold of you, Yue. I don't know exactly what you intend to accomplish from it, but I see the passion in your eyes, and that is why I agreed to this. You're staking more on this than simply your rank and reputation. You're going to try your best and become stronger thanks to it, and so in response I will show you the level of strength which you have yet to cross into.'_ the Ra Yellow head said to himself.

Once they were ready, Yue fished into his pocket and pulled out a dull gray coin, placed it on his thumb and flung it into the air. "Call it." he said as it spun through the air for a moment. As it descended, he reached to grab it and missed, resulting in a high-pitched "ping" ringing through the air.

Looking down in search of the coin, Yue's eyes widened in shock when he found his coin on the ground, somehow having shattered when it hit the ground!

"Well...um...that's...unusual. Er..." Yue rubbed the back of his head, not sure of what to make of the seemingly impossible situation.

"As professor, I dictate the first turn honors to you." Katsu declared, settling the manner easily enough. With a nod, Yue reached for his deck and whipped off a sixth card.

"To start things off, I summon my Ice Blader (1400/1100) in attack mode." A man in light blue ice armor appeared, wielding a double-bladed sword. "This monster powers up all ice monsters by five hundred, and then gains an additional one hundred points for every extra ice monster on my field." Yue explained as his monsters attack points rose to nineteen hundred, a solid attack for a beat down monster.

"Next I will set two cards face down, ending my turn, Professor." the spiky-haired youth said, slipping the two cards from his hand into the slots lining the back of his duel disk. Once their holographic images had appeared, Katsu drew.

Leaning back in his chair, Kazuki had a slightly bored expression on his face. _'Yue's good, no denying that. But still, he's going up against Katsu, head of the Ra Yellow dorm. He's done for already.'_

"I summon a monster in defense mode and then I will set one card face down. End." Katsu declared as the holographic images appeared before him.

"Draw!" Yue called, raising his hand to four cards, even with Katsu's. "I play Ice Break, which destroys one card on your field and deals you two hundred points of damage for each of its levels; magic and trap cards destroyed in this manner are considered to be level one."

Instantly ice began to build up underneath Katsu's face down card, quickly accumulating in an upward motion. Just as it was about to envelop the card, however, the image opened up ninety degrees, escaping the ice, which promptly shattered.

"I chained with my Jar of Greed, allowing me to draw one card and sparing myself damage." Katsu explained, snapping a card off of his deck. In response Yue berated himself for having fallen for the same bluff which had been so effective in Katsu's last duel.

"Alright, I'll follow that up by setting a monster face down in defense mode, and then I'll have Ice Blader attack your set monster!" Lifting his double-bladed weapon, the ice warrior charged across the field, slashing in a wide horizontal arc, splitting the target monster card in half. In response, Katsu's duel disk beeped and spat his deck out into his waiting hand.

"You destroyed Speaker for Excerion (1200/1500), who allows me to add any card with Excerion in its title from my deck to my hand." the professor explained, riffling through until he found a card, which he added to his hand. Then he shuffled the remaining cards up with professional grace and returned the deck to its place. "Continue."

"I don't have any moves left available to me, so I end my turn." Yue responded, snapping the three cards in his hand together, his face beaming, but at the same time totally focused. Without missing a beat, Katsu drew.

"I activate the rare magic card, Death Before Birth!" the Ra Yellow head called, turning around the card he had drawn, revealing its green border. "During this turn, I have no normal summon. Instead, I now pick up cards from my deck until I have two monsters, the first of which is discarded, but the second is automatically special summoned. Any other cards I draw through this effect are then shuffled back into my deck."

Drawing a card from his deck, Katsu held it separate from his hand and then drew again, then again, but the fourth card he turned around, showing a brown border. "Soldier of Excerion (1700/1200) is discarded."

As he placed the card into his graveyard, Yue bit his lower lip slightly, realizing what this meant. Katsu was thinning his deck, though not by much, but now whatever monster Katsu drew next would automatically gain an extra three hundred attack and defense points, which could cause problems later on.

On his fifth card after discarding the Soldier, Katsu slapped it down onto his duel disk. Instantly there was a shrill howl in the air as a an unearthly darkness surrounded the field. Seconds later, the shadow burst in an explosion of blue flame, revealing both players still standing strong, but on Katsu's field was now a long, silver-scaled dragon.

"My summoned monster is Divine Dragon-Excerion (1500+300/900+300)." Katsu declared as his beast hovered above him. "I have no copies of him in the graveyard, so his attack will only increase by three hundred for the soldier in my grave."

Slightly confused, Yue examined the teacher, but could discern nothing. _'Excerion is one hundred points weaker than Ice Blader, so why in attack mode? What's he up to?'_

Plucking two cards from his hand, Katsu silently slipped them into his magic zones, both appearing face down. Then, shifting his attention to his dragon, he declared "Divine Dragon-Excerion (1800/1200), attack his face down monster!"

Rearing back its head, the dragon let loose a stream of sapphire flames, though in comparison to what was seen just a few weeks ago, it was rather unimpressive. Still, it had no trouble in burning Yue's set monster to cinders.

"Thank you, Professor." Yue smiled as his own deck ejected itself, just like Katsu's had a few minutes before. "The monster you attacked, known as Snow Wolf (1200/800), had a flip effect. It allows me to special summon up to two copies of itself from my hand or deck to the field. Then they'll each gain five hundred attack points from Ice Blade, who in turn will gain two hundred attack points."

Taking two cards from his deck, Yue placed both onto his duel disk in attack mode. In a flash of pixels, two canines with snow white fur appeared, baring their jagged teeth at Katsu field. At the same time a light blue aura surrounded all three of the snow monsters, the two newer monsters both raising to seventeen hundred attack points while the sword wielder came to a stop at twenty-one hundred.

"Well done, Yue. You not only have three monsters, each with respectable attack power, but you even used your Snow Wolf to quickly increase the power of your Ice Blader. Very well, I end." Katsu said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Draw!" Yue called, whipping a third card into his hand. After a quick glance he smirked and twirled it around to show Katsu, declaring his move as he did. "I sacrifice my two Snow Wolves (1700) to summon Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru (3000+500/3000)!"

The two white wolves both dissolved into swirling streams of white snow, zipping in an elegant pattern all around Yue's field as blue light started to flow between the individual flakes. After a moment, it became apparent that the blue light was absorbing the flakes as they faded away, finally taking the form of the massive blue oriental dragon, about twice the size of Katsu's monster and sneering at it. At the same time, since Yue was one monster fewer than a few minutes ago, his Ice Blader lost one hundred attack points.

"Hyourinmaru has a number of effects, as I'm sure you are aware, such as gaining one hundred attack points for every Ice monster in my graveyard, which currently is just three. Also, I am allow to discard a card from my hand to destroy one card on your field." Yue smiled, slipping a card into his graveyard from his hand. Instantly the massive dragon reared back his head and fired a ball of ice and freezing water, smashing apart the set card on Katsu's left, which was revealed to be his Blitz Counterattack.

"Now, Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru (3800), attack and destroy Divine Dragon-Excerion!"Taking to the skies, the massive dragon coiled its long body while keeping its ruby eyes on its target. In response, Excerion hissed back, despite the opposing beast possessing more than twice its own attack.

Snapping its body straight, the blue dragon launched its head forward, fangs ready. In a flash it enveloped the serpentine monster, dousing its flames in an instant while the ice dragons head seemed to be smashed away upon impact, now looking more like a column of water hitting the earth than a dragon attacking. A minute later, Yue's monster retracted and restored its normal form. (KLP:2000)

Moving his arm away from his face, Katsu's face remained stoic, despite the hit to his life points and the loss of his only monster. Re-folding his arms, he waited patiently for Yue to go next, fully aware that Yue would now attack his life points directly, dropping him to three hundred.

"Ice Blader, go." Yue commanded. With a nod the knight took an aggressive stance with his weapon and bolted across the field. Raising the blade diagonally over his head he prepared to swing down across Katsu chest when a purple bordered card suddenly snapped up in the way of the attack.

"I activate my Excerion's Descent." Katsu explained from behind the holographic card image, his right pinky lightly pressed against the activation button, having made no other movement than that one finger. "This allows me to instantly summon a Divine Dragon-Excerion (1500/900) from my hand."

Uncrossing his arms, Katsu took a card from the three in his hand and slapped it down, the second of his three majestic dragons appearing. "And not only will he get the three hundred point bonus from my Soldier in the graveyard, but now there's a Divine Dragon-Excerion in the grave as well, so I'll use it to grant my new one an extra one thousand attack points." With a roar, the flames on the dragons back flared up as its power rose from fifteen hundred to twenty-eight hundred, much too strong for Yue's Ice Blader.

"Well, if that's how it's gonna be, then I'll just set my last card face down, and end my turn." the Obelisk Blue finish, a single holographic card appearing in front of him. In response, Katsu drew, returning him to three cards. Turning the newest card around, he displayed the image of an angel with her arms out, hands open.

"Graceful Charity to draw three and discard two." he quickly declared, snapping three cards off of his deck. Adding two of them to the others in his hand, he then took the third and one of his old cards and slipped them into the cemetery. Quickly grabbing another of his older cards he slipped it into a magic zone and a green bordered image appeared, a funnel of wind shooting out of it.

"Mystical Space Typhoon destroys you set card." he commented as Yue grimaced. Grabbing another card, he turned it around and another green bordered card appeared next to him. In response the flames on his dragon's back flared up and its eyes flashed with light.

"Excerion's Divine Flame!" Katsu introduced his card. "Using it I can either increase Excerion's attack by one thousand for the turn, activate his double attack ability, or deal you a destroyed monsters attack as direct damage. I am, of course, choosing a power boost this time!" Roaring with power, Katsu's signature monster gather flames into its mouth as its attack power increased by a significant margin.

"They'll tie..." Yue muttered cautiously, wondering what his opponent was planning. It would be a poor choice on Katsu's part to suicide his dragon, since it would leave him wide open. Studying the older man for a moment long, his eyes suddenly snapped open. "Unless one of the cards you discarded can increase your dragon's attack!"

Nodding, Katsu's eyes moved to his graveyard as he explained. "The card which I had searched for with my Speaker of Excerion was a second Soldier so that way when I had the chance I could discard him. So now my dragon gains a total boost of sixteen hundred!" Seething in a low voice, the dragon gave what had to be a cocky grin to Yue and his monsters.

"Excerion (4100), attack Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru! Divine Flame Strike!" With a final howl, the leviathan let loose a stream of blue flames, striking the offending beast head on. For a moment Hyourinmaru thrashed about, followed by puffs of steam rising off of its body. Finally, all that was left was a smoldering puddle. (YLP:3700)

"Heh, it's out of season, but watching ice melt is a marvelous sight." Katsu smirked as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I set one card face down and end my turn."

Slowly, Yue drew a card, keeping his eyes on Katsu all the while. It was frightening that the Ra Yellow head had been able to destroy Hyourinmaru so suddenly. Still, at least Katsu's hand was empty, for the moment.

"I set one monster in defense mode, switch Ice Blader to defense mode, and set one card face down. Turn end." he finish simply, emptying his hand, just like Katsu while two new cards appeared in front of him and his original monster dropped to a crouch.

"Very well, my move." Katsu responded, drawing a single card. Glancing at it dismissively he focused on his dragon. "Excerion (3100), attack Ice Blader!"

"I activate my set card, White Snow Sleeve!" Yue shouted back as the dragon let loose another jet of blue flames. Instantly a swirl of wind and snow appeared and intercepted the blast, keeping it from touching his field. "This card negates your attack and either allows me to special summon an Ice monster from my hand or to place one into my hand from my deck." Holding up his empty hand, he smirked. "Obviously I choose the latter."

Fishing through his deck he found the card he wanted and then snapped the rest together, shuffled, and returned them to the holster. Holding up the single card in his hand, he nodded to Katsu, signaling he could take the remainder of his turn. In response the teacher nodded, signaling his turn to be over.

"My move!" Yue smiled. "And now I'm going to sacrifice both my Ice Blader and my face down Ice Elf (1500/1700) to summon my Water Crystal Goddess (2500/2500) in attack mode!" From the head down, Yue's armored fighter broke down into thousands of flakes of snow, followed by the horizontal monster next to it. Next they began to pull together at a single point directly in front of you, building into a massive mound of snow, followed by a flash of light.

Once sight was restored to the players and those watching, there was a collective gasp from the spectators, whereas Katsu remained as cold as ever and Yue snickered happily. The cause for the gasp itself, however, was thanks to Yue's monster. It was obviously female, and could only be described as beautiful. Her hair was white as snow, and she wore an elegant dress that seemed to be out of a fairy tale. On the ground around her was a ring of shimmering white light, releasing a faint breeze which caused her dress and hair to flail slightly.

"Now I'll use the first of her effects, discarding a card from my hand to special summon an Ice monster from my graveyard to my field. I will of course choose Hyourinmaru." the Obelisk Blue smiled as he took his single card and inserted it into the graveyard. Instantly his blue dragon appeared, howling for revenge as his attack points rose by five hundred since there were now five Ice monsters in the graveyard. "And the card I discarded was Repayment of Losses, so I draw a card."

Drawing again, Yue glanced at his newest card for only a second before slipping it into a magic zone. Appearing face down, the card surprised Katsu when it promptly shattered into thousands of pixels of light.

"I sacrifice that face down card to special summon one of my Ice Lancer's (1700/1200) from my deck in attack mode." The Obelisk persisted as the ice armored man with a long javelin appeared. "That should just about do it, don't you think, Professor?"

"Try and see." Katsu responded, nothing wavering.

"I'll do just that. Hyourinmaru (3500), attack Divine Dragon-Excerion!" Arching its head back, the ice dragon let loose a massive current of water and ice aimed straight at the smaller dragon.

"Activate face down card!" Katsu called as the holographic image of the card in front of him began to twist up.

"That wont work!" Yue shouted back. "Hyourinmaru automatically negates any card activated in chain to his attacks. You wasted your trap." With a cry of triumph, he watched as the attack continued. To his surprise, however, the blast of icy water instantly froze solid when it was mere inches from its target, stopping its progress. "What?"

Keeping his focus evened on the duel, Katsu motioned with his eyes to Excerion, or more specifically, to the space right next to the dragon, which was now glowing gold. From the light sprung thousands of the pixels which the holographic images were made from, swirling around themselves, forming into some abstract shape.

"I don't understand. What's going on?" Yue insisted, not sure what to make of the development. Professor Yoriyoi has just managed to not only some how get around Hyourinmaru's negation effect, but now there was some strange activity on the teacher's field. However, his attention was quickly brought back to his own monster, which was beginning to break down into millions of snow flakes.

Eyes wide, the child protégé's eyes shot back and forth between his ice dragon, the opposing field, and his opponent, unable to speak the rapidly growing list of questions his mind was developing.

After another moment, the ice beast was completely dissolved and the swirl of lights on Katsu's field had taken form, revealing another Excerion (1500+600/900+600).

"Allow me to explain, Yue. When you attacked, I activated my Offerings to the Divine trap card." Katsu spoke after what seemed to Yue to be an eternity. "It may only be activated if I have a monster with 'Divine' or 'God' in its name in the graveyard. It allows me to negate and destroy an opposing monster attack or effect and then special summon the chosen monster from my graveyard."

As an afterthought he added, "I no longer have any Excerion's in my graveyard, so my newly summoned one doesn't gain any of his own effects. However, because Excerion's effects trigger upon his summon, the first one maintains his thousand point boost."

Clenching a fist and his teeth, Yue barked his next order. "Water Crystal Goddess, attack the newer Excerion (2100/1500) now!" Lifting her hand to her face, palm facing up, the beautiful woman blew gently against her open hand. As her breath grazed across the surface of her palm it became a massive ribbon or white wind, large flakes of frozen water mixed in and swirling around Katsu's monster, wrapping it tightly in ice before it shattered. (KLP:1600)

Without any cards in his hand and his Ice Lancer too week to beat Katsu're remaining monster, Yue had no choice but to end his turn. In response, Katsu promptly drew, giving himself just one card to work with. Sighing, he slipped it into his duel disk, the face down card appearing behind his mighty dragon, though it was still to weak to beat Yue's dragon.

"I set that face down, and then I'll have Divine Dragon-Excerion attack your Water Crystal Goddess!" With a single blast of blue flames, Yue's monster was vaporized completely. (YLP:3400)

"My move, Professor Yoriyoi." Yue called, his voice one of determination. Looking at his only card, he quickly snapped it around to show his opponent. "I activate Coins from Heaven, so now we both draw until we hold six cards." Simultaneously the two duelist drew six cards and fanned them out.

Looking across the field over his newly filled hand of cards, Yue gave his teacher a scrutinizing look. "Hm...you left Excerion in attack mode, even though there is now an eight hundred point difference between the attack strength of our two dragons. So...are you relying on your set card to protect you this turn? After all, that worked for you last turn, didn't it?" Grabbing two cards from his hand, Yue placed them into his graveyard, where they were readily accepted. "However, I wont let you. I'm not going to be attacking your dragon, but instead I'll use Hyourinmaru's effect to discard two cards from my hand to destroy both of the cards on your field!"

Slashing its tail against the ground in an arc, the ice beast let loose a massive wave of ice and water surging straight for Katsu's field. Quickly it washed over the two cards on the teacher's field. Moments later fading away into the air. In its wake, Katsu's field was completely void.

"Excellent. Now, Frozen Ice Ring-Hyourinmaru, attack Professor Yoriyoi's life points directly!" the dark haired boy commanded, his monster craning its neck back before releasing another stream of freezing liquid at the target. In response, the teacher merely stood still, arms crossed as the attack cut through the air towards him.

"Wont work." he finally stated as the attack suddenly ran into a shimmering silver barrier which had appeared all around Katsu, the beam of water breaking into multiple smaller streams and slipping down and around the shield.

"How did you...? Hyourinmaru's effect, though!" Yue shouted back.

"You need to understand, Yue, that you didn't destroy my cards, I did." Katsu replied. "The moment you discarded those cards, I activated by set card, Excerion's Departure. Using it, I sacrificed my own Divine Dragon-Excerion, who left me with his sacred blessing. For this entire turn, myself and my field are unaffected by your attacks and effects." Upon hearing this, Yue grimaced, realizing he had wasted two precious cards from his hand for nothing.

"Also, my trap card grants me Excerion's base attack strength of fifteen hundred as life points." Glancing down at his duel disk, Katsu was pleased to see his life points return to a much safer amount. (KLP:3100)

Looking at his hand, Yue took a moment to think through his options. _'I had hoped to finish him there. I was too reckless. Now, thanks to his trap card, there's nothing I can really do with what I have left.'_ Sighing in defeat, Yue signaled the end of his turn.

"I summon Follower of Excerion (900+600/900+600) in defense mode." A man simple silver and blue clothes appeared, a silver armband on his left arm with glowing sapphire kanji clearly visible. Falling to his knees, he clasped his hands together and began to pray. "Upon his summoning, Follower of Excerion allows me to draw the top card of my deck. Based upon what type of card it is, and whether or not it relates to Excerion, a different action is taken."

Pulling the top card of his deck free, Katsu took just a minute to determine what it was before flipping it around to show Yue. "Brood of Excerion (700/400). Since it's a monster, it is discarded to my graveyard, where it can serve a greater purpose."

Grabbing three more cards from his hand, Katsu inserted them one at a time into slots along the back of his duel disk, three separate face down cards appearing between himself and his monsters. "Three cards face down. Turn end."

"Draw!" Yue called, adding a fifth card to his hand. _'Ok, so he used his Follower of Excerion because he knew it would be destroyed this turn anyway, so he was hoping to at least thin his deck a bit, which he did. However, at least one of those set cards is likely a trap. However, with Hyourinmaru's effects, plus if I bolster my numbers, I should be able to get around anything he has set up.'_

"Alright, time to end it. I play the magic card, Monster Reborn to revive my Water Crystal Goddess (2500/2500)!" In a flash of light, the beautiful maiden appeared, snow flakes swirling all around her. "Next I'll use her effect to discard a card to revive an Ice monster, in this case I choose Ice Elf (1500/1700) in attack mode!" A tall female figure with ivory hair reaching to her mid-back, pointed ears, and a white tunic appeared, a bow made of ice clutched in her left hand.

Grabbing a card he flipped it around to show off another green magic card. "I activate the magic card, White Ripple. I pay one thousand life points, and then you set the top three cards from your deck onto your field. You can't activate or flip those cards until the end phase of my next turn." (YLP:2400)

Nodding, Katsu pulled the top three cards off of his deck, examined them for a moment, and then set one in a magic zone and the other two horizontally as monsters.

"Ice Elf's effect grants her three hundred attack points for every face down card on the field." Yue explained with a smile. "You now have six face down cards, so that gives her a total attack of thirty-three hundred." Snickering, the armed woman waited as an icy aura flared around her, more than doubling her attack strength.

"Ice Lancer, attack Follower of Excerion!" Leaning his weight back, the ice warrior threw all of his power into flinging his weapon forward, spiraling through the air straight at Katsu's monster.

"Reveal face down card!" Katsu shouted, one of the cards he had set during his turn flipping up, revealing a purple border. Yue choked on air when he saw the card. It was an old, but extremely powerful trap card, and he'd walked right into it! "Mirror Force!"

A rainbow colored wall formed in the path of the spear, which shattered upon impact. Then, in response to the spears destruction, the barrier fired four separate streams of light, each on striking one of Yue's monsters.

"They're not going down so easily!" Yue shouted back, grabbing two cards from his hand, which he violently shoved into magic slots. "I activate two quick-play magic cards, White Pulse and Dragon Hail Flower!" The moment the two cards activated, one of Katsu's set monsters was suddenly encased in ice before violently shattering, followed seconds later by all three of his remaining set magic and trap cards, which were washed over by a wave of ice before breaking down.

"White Pulse allows me to sacrifice an ice monster from my field to destroy all of your magic and trap cards, while Dragon Hail Flower destroys one face down monster on your field and deals you five hundred points of damage!" (KLP:2600)

The moment his explanation was complete, Yue's remaining monsters faded away, victims of Katsu's trap card. Now the field was nearly clean, save Katsu's Follower of Excerion and his remaining set monster, who was off limits to him until Yue's next turn ended. Of course, Yue himself wasn't quite done yet.

"I set one card face down and then sacrifice it to special summon my second Ice Lancer (1700/1200) from my deck to the field in attack mode, ending my turn."

"Yue," Katsu spoke, drawing a card. "You're a powerful duelist, worthy of your titles and ranks here at the Academy. However, against me you cannot win; not yet, at least." To Katsu's surprise, his young opponent broke out into laughter after these words were said. Raising an eyebrow, Katsu tried to understand why his opponent seemed to be happy to hear this.

Calming himself, Yue finally explained, "I know that, Professor. I walked into this duel with the full knowledge that I'd lose. It's just that ever since I saw you duel in the exhibition match, I've wanted to duel you. I've given my all, so now I'm happy enough to let you finish it if you can. However, I'm not just going to roll over and play dead either. I'm not going to just give up just because it at least seems hopeless!"

As this words rang throughout the room, from his seat Kazuki's eyes widened as he let them sink in. _'Not giving up, even though there doesn't seem to be a way to win?'_ He was broken from his thoughts by the sound of...clapping? Shaking his head a bit, Kazuki stared down at the field where Katsu Yoriyoi was applauding his young opponent, quickly being joined by other students in the room until nearly everyone was standing and cheering.

"Well spoken, Yue. Truly you have a strong heart. However, the period is almost over, how I think it is in my best interest end this duel now." Drawing a card, Katsu barely glanced at it before adding it to his hand.

"First, Follower of Excerion again allows me to draw my top card." Taking a quick look at the card, Katsu pulled his deck free, set the card on top, and began to shuffle. "Since it was a trap card not relating to Excerion, it is shuffled into my deck." he explained.

"Now, witness firsthand my myriad of godlike feats! I activate my magic card, Excerion's Rebirth, reviving one of my fallen dragons!" In a flash of light and flames, Katsu's signature monster reappeared, howling into the air. "I have another Divine Dragon-Excerion in the graveyard, plus one Brood of Excerion and two Soldiers. I will use both the Brood and the Excerion to boost my monster by one thousand attack points each!" Flames growing in intensity, the dragon glared down at Yue's lowly Lancer.

"Now, just to make sure you don't stop me, I activate the magic card, Excerion's Rage!" To the surprise of the entire crowd, the flames on the back of the dragon began to flare even hotter and its eyes changed from shimmering gold to blazing sapphire.

"This magic card allows me to pay one thousand life points to activate all three of the effects of a Divine Dragon-Excerion on the field as long as that monster remains in play, even if I've already activated those effects by having the appropriate monsters in the grave. So now my dragon has a further one thousand attack points, double attacks if it destroys a monster in battle, and he deals a destroyed monsters attack as damage."

"Go Trogdor! Thatch-roofed cottages!" As these words were shouted, everyone in the room turned their attention to an Osiris Red student in the back with dark green hair, who was standing with his arms reaching towards the sky with a fan in each, flailing them about madly in some sort of cheer. "Burninate! Burninate!"

Rolling his eyes, Katsu turned back to the duel. "Divine Dragon-Excerion (6100/1500), attack and destroy Ice Lancer! Melt it away!" Opening its maw wide, the dragon released a wave of its blue flames, completely engulfing the ice warrior and disintegrating him in a matter of seconds, eliminating the remainder of Yue's life points. (YLP:0)

"Trogdor strikes again!" the Osiris Red kept on cheering as the holograms faded away and Yue bowed respectfully to Katsu, who nodded in response before returning his attention to the class.

"For your homework, I want you to..."

XXXXXXXXX

That evening, Kazuki found himself in what to him felt like and awkward situation. He was sitting across a table from Professor Kiske. It was weird to be sitting down and talking with the teacher he had lost his temper with not too long ago, playing a friendly game of chess. Actually, it was the fourth game of the night; he'd lost the previous three, all told barely surviving twenty turns amongst the previous games.

"Are you sure, Kazuki?" Eizan asked, taking another pawn with one of his own.

"I...I think so. I want to at least try." the young man responded after a few minutes of silence as he examined the bored, finally taking a knight with a bishop. "Damnit!" he cursed as he realized his mistake.

"No worries, that there are not." Eizan chuckled lightly, taking the bishop with one of his own, setting himself up in a position to attack either Kazuki's knight or rook. "I am proud of you for making this decision, that I am. You're an excellent student, Kazuki, and just as talented as a duelist. Even though as you are now you would lose, as you may become, you can win, that you can."

Smiling, Kazuki moved his rook, opting to save it in place of his knight. It was good to hear his teacher say those words. Maybe it was because he liked hearing such things, or if it was because he respected Eizan, he wasn't sure. Either way, it did not change what happened next.

"Checkmate, that it is." Kiske smiled as he moved his other bishop into position.

Rising to his feet, Eizan extended his hand, and Kazuki accepted the hand shake before also lifting himself out of his chair. "Thank you, Professor."

"I have one more surprise for you, actually, that I do." the teacher said, walking over to his desk and pulling out an envelope, which he handed to Kazuki. "Mr. Pegasus brought these for you when he came for the Duel Festival, that he did."

Taking the package, Kazuki tore it open and pulled out three Duel Monsters cards, identical to one another. At first he did not recognize the pictures, but when his eyes drifted up to the shining words at the top, spelling out the name of the card, his eyes widened.

"How did you get this?"

_To Be Continued..._

Funny thing about this duel. It wasn't part of the original plan for the story, but I was dueling G.O.T. Nick not terribly long ago and challenged his Excerion deck with my Ice deck, and it was so cool I decided to use it for a chapter. I just had to make some changes to make it more fic-friendly.

Also, the duel with Nick is where I got the thing about the coin shattering. I understand that, in truth, it's essentially impossible for a metal coin to break like that. Mostly this was part of the inside joke between Nick and myself, so don't waste your time explaining that I don't understand my physics.

Original cards- I'm just not going to bother. It should be plain and obvious by now.

Remember, forums and character portraits!

_Next Time-Eizan has once again managed to catch Kazuki by surprise. What's so special about these cards Pegasus has provided for him? Of course, with new cards comes a need for new experience. Kazuki now must adapt to using these new cards and new strategies, all the while keeping up with his studies as well as extra studies, preparing for the inevitable match. With less than eight months before the duel to decide his future, Kazuki must prepare. Next chapter, the countdown begins!_

_Next Time-Countdown Begins! Sword of the Soul!_


End file.
